NBA 2018-19: 3 talking points as Toronto Raptors beat the Indiana Pacers 121-105

In an Eastern Conference match 2 of the top 3 teams went up against each other as the 1st seed Raptors hosted the 3rd seed Pacers at the Scotiabank Arena.

What was supposed to be a close game on paper turned into a fairly easy game for the Raptors as they beat the Pacers by 121-105.

During the first half the match was pretty close and it was very hard to separate these two teams. But then Toronto amped up their game which led to the Pacers succumbing due to a lack of firepower.

After this game the Raptors climb back to 1st seed with a record of 30-12, while the Pacers are still at 3rd with record of 26-13.

Another important point to be noted is that the Raptors were without Kawhi Leonard, yet they won the game quiet easily.

With that in mind, here are the top 3 talking points from this game -

#3. Toronto's bench mob on fire

The Raptors bench outscored the Pacers bench by 25 points. This was a big difference and proved to be too much for the Pacers starters to cover that huge gap up.

It's fair to say now that the Raptors have the best bench in the league. They have got scorers, defenders, 3-point shooters and a variety of mixed players sitting on their bench waiting for their opportunity to enter the game and make an impact instantly.

This gives the Raptors a huge advantage over everyone else. Even the best of teams. As no matter what this bench almost always proves to be the superior in every match, if everyone is healthy.

While the bench mob has struggled in voluminous proportions throughout the season, they turned up for this game and let everyone know why they finished with the #1 seed last season and are favourites to snag it again.

#2. Disparity in the 3-point percentage

This game was a shooting clinic on the front of the Toronto Raptors. They shot lights out and there was no chance the Pacers could do anything about it, even though they're the best defensive team in the league.

They shot at a mind boggling 51.5% from the 3-point line, making 17 of their 33 total 3-pointers taken.

On the other hand, the Pacers were a stark contrast of this and shot very poorly from the 3. Their percentage was only 23.5% as they made only 4 of their total 17 3-pointers.

Almost everyone came in and instantly started contributing from the 3 for the Raptors. They were very quick to find an open man throughout the game and this paid them huge dividends as they got a statement victory against the Pacers who are also in sublime form lately.

#1. Evenly distributed scoring

This game was a good display of team ball from both teams. There was not one standout player from any of these 2, but the whole team came up together, pushed each other and tried to win this game. This is good for the game of basketball.

On one hand all the starters for the Pacers were in double figures and gave their best to win this one but the 3-point shooting and such a big gap in bench points just didn't help their case.

On the other, the Raptors were missing Kawhi Leonard and needed someone else to fill up his shoes. They got the whole team to contribute and didn't miss Leonard's services.

In their next game the Toronto Raptors will face the Atlanta Hawks, while the Indiana Pacers will go to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers in Quicken Loans Arena.