2 Negatives, 1 positive from Indiana Pacers crushing loss to Toronto Raptors

Following a thrilling five-point win in Atlanta the night prior, which I attended in person, Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers returned to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to take on the Toronto Raptors in a pre-Thanksgiving showdown.

Already knackered and now missing Aaron Nesmith to go along with Andrew Nembhard, Indiana was down some much-needed defense for the night. Interestingly, Indiana called up Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard back to the Pacers after sending them down to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants long enough to play one game earlier that day. Predictably, they would not get any minutes on the night and would merely just watch the game again.

This game was a barnburner from start to finish, as Indiana played like they did not just have the fight of their lives just 24 hours ago in Atlanta and jumped out to an eight-point first-quarter lead.

However, their poor defense caught up with them again as it often has this season, and Toronto entered the second half with a three-point lead. Indiana took back the lead at the end of the third, but ultimately lost in the final minutes after a questionable non-call on Tyrese Haliburton and a missed three-pointer by Buddy Hield sealed the win for Toronto.

Indiana played pretty well for a team coming off a 157-point night, but in the end, it wasn't enough. These takeaways are starting to form a pattern at this point, and what went wrong should be pretty obvious when you look at the final score.