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.

Negative: Lack of defense costs another game

Starting to sense a pattern yet? With Wednesday's loss to the Hawks, the Pacers have accomplished a unique feat. They are now both owners of the league's best offense and worst defense.

While this is impressive, as Indiana's offense is clearly good enough to win them games on its own, it is also extremely concerning when their inability to guard anyone costs them multiple games like the one on Wednesday.

While the Pacers were ridiculously efficient all game, the Raptors were right on their heels, shooting 53% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc, led by 36 points from Pascal Siakalm, 26 from Dennis Schroder, and 20 from Scottie Barnes.

Siakam was particularly dangerous on the night, as the man that many have put in Pacers trade talks gave them a full offensive showcase through the entire game, putting up 17 points in the second half to help the Raptors come away with the win.

With the way Indiana was playing in the first and third quarters, it should have been impossible for them to lose, but they somehow found a way to do it. While no specific Raptor went off in the fourth quarter, Indiana's final minutes saw them commit avoidable fouls and give up key points on free throws, which would ultimately cost the game.

While it is true that Indiana was coming off an exhausting game the night before, and they were missing their top bench defenders, Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard, there is no excuse for how bad their defense was, especially in crunch time.

Something has to change soon, or we will end up coming back to this exact topic during the playoffs, that is if Indiana's defense even allows them to make it that far.

Positive: Pacers play fast and efficient off back-to-back

Following Tuesday's thriller against Atlanta, many were expecting the Pacers to perhaps coast a bit against Toronto due to being put through the wringer the past day and just getting off a flight back to Indiana. However, this couldn't be further from the case, and Indiana's offense looked like a team fresh off a few days of rest the way they were making their shots.

Despite losing, the Pacers actually shot better than the Raptors on the night, shooting 55% from the field and a scorching-hot 46% from beyond the arc. While only five players scored in double figures, relatively low for a Pacers game, two of those players scored over 30 points.

Tyrese Haliburton led the way as he usually does with 33 points while Buddy Hield shone through in his second night as a starter, putting up a season-high 31 points, continuing his scorching-hot two-day run going back to the Hawks game.

Usually, having two players combine for 64 points would be enough offensive firepower, but the Pacers still had more to offer. Myles Turner provided 16 points and some key buckets down the stretch, as did Obi Toppin, who added 16.

Bruce Brown chipped in 14 points of his own to round out a relatively balanced scoring game from the Pacers starting lineup. Due to injuries from two of their biggest contributors, the Pacers didn't go too deep into their bench, only playing nine players, but still saw some decent offensive contributions from TJ McConnell and Jalen Smith, who added seven and eight points, respectively.

We all know at this point that the Pacers can score, as they have regained their spot as the NBA's best offense recently. However, the Pacers' problems of old are still haunting them enough to cost them winnable games. You all know the drill by now.

Negative: Pacers get bad look on final shot

This one hurt the most. Despite some questionable officiating leading to the Raptors having a small lead in the final seconds, the Pacers managed to foul Gary Trent Jr. with eight seconds left.

Sure enough, the best possible outcome happened, as Trent Jr, a sub-60% free throw shooter, missed both his shots. Upon grabbing the rebound and having no timeouts left, Indiana had some time to take a good shot but ultimately couldn't get better than a deep prayer from Buddy Hield, which was not answered as the Pacers lost the game, much to the dismay of Quinn Buckner.

Listening to this call, one quote stands out from Quinn Buckner: "They got the shot they wanted."

I would have to disagree with this.

There was plenty of time to get a better shot up and get a better chance of winning this game, especially given that there were three seconds left when Hield took his three, during which he could have easily driven to the rim and found a better shot or gotten fouled.

Even with the Raptors' defense getting tighter, there was perhaps a better shot opportunity to be had than a 35-foot prayer when down by only one point.

There is no denying that Buddy Hield is a fantastic shooter who is capable of making that shot, but during that time, it would probably have been the wiser move to find a better shot instead of putting up a long ball. Either way, the outcome was the same: Pacers lose in a heartbreaker, 131-132.

Indiana will have a well-deserved rest day to look forward to as the players look to celebrate Thanksgiving away from the team. However, they will not be away for long, as they face the Detroit Pistons in another In-Season tournament matchup on Friday.

This will be an interesting matchup against Detroit, who have only won four out of their last 40 games. Due to this, it will be interesting to see if the Pacers play down to the level of the Pistons and make the game closer than it should be or play like the number one offense in the league and take Detroit down from the start. It will be sure to be an intriguing one.

For now, Happy Thanksgiving Pacers fans and we will see you on Friday!