INDIANAPOLIS—DeMar DeRozan talked and people may not have listened or believed but he was true to his word when the Toronto Raptors needed him the most.
For days the all-star guard had been adamant that his shooting woes were a fluke, the product of bad fortune more than bad play and that eventually all would be right in his world.
A 21-point performance, a free and easy night where he looked in mid-season form, lifted the Raptors to a 101-85 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 of their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.