Valanciunas’s foul trouble hurts Raptors in 100-90 loss to Pacers in Game 1

TORONTO – At no point in the Toronto Raptors’ Game 1 defeat were they dominating the contest. On balance, however, the Raptors controlled the play in the first half. A lot of that was due to Jonas Valanciunas, the team’s starting centre.

Valanciunas set a franchise record for rebounds in a half, with 15. While it would have helped the Raptors if a few of those tips right around the basket went through the hoop, he was still dominating inside the paint. With 4:20 remaining in the second quarter, that all changed.

Valanciunas was scrapping with Indiana Pacers rookie Miles Turner for the rebound of an errant three-pointer from Kyle Lowry. Despite a lot of contact from both players, it was Valanciunas called for the foul, his third, finishing his half. He managed only 10 minutes in the second half, before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

“At certain moments, yes you do (feel frustrated). You’re playing a game. You want every call and every play to be in your way,” said Valanciunas, who still finished with a franchise-best 19 rebounds in a post-season game, to go along with 12 points. “You want every call and every play to be in your way, to be positive for your side.”

“Hopefully he won’t get in foul trouble again,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey added. “Some of them were cheap fouls, wrestling matches. He’s got to show his hands (to the officials) and don’t even put yourself in that position to get the calls.”

When Valanciunas picked up his third foul, the Raptors were up by six. The Pacers won the final 28-plus minutes of the game by 16 points and took Game 1 in Toronto 100-90.

Valanciunas’s primary backup, Bismack Biyombo has been effective this year — he had 16 points and a franchise-record 25 rebounds against Indiana in a March win — he is not the offensive threat that the starter is. The Raptors shot 38 per cent from the field in the series opener, including just 21 per cent from three-point range. While Valanciunas is not a three-point shooter, his presence versus Biyombo’s gives Lowry and DeMar DeRozan more space to operate, creating more opportunities for both themselves and their teammates.

“Jonas getting in foul trouble really (hurt). He had it going early, 11 offensive boards,” Casey said. “We didn’t get to utilize him enough, and it allowed them to do some things. They were able help on Kyle and DeMar off of Biz.”

Casey put Valanciunas back on the floor with four fouls early in the fourth quarter, but he lasted just 27 seconds before picking up his fifth. He only lasted two minutes later in the quarter, in between his fifth and final fouls.

“You’ve got to just play the game,” Valanciunas said. “You cannot be saving yourself. ‘I have five fouls, so I’m not going to play defence.’ No, that’s wrong. I was just trying to do whatever it takes to get a rebound or stop the ball.”