East Notes: Pacers, Obi Toppin, Hawks, Raptors

Pacers

The Pacers overcame a 17-point deficit to spoil the 62-point outburst from Suns shooting guard Devin Booker on Friday. Forward Obi Toppin played a major role in the win, finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds.

“Great player,” Toppin told reporters about Booker. “But that fourth quarter, we decided to hit and send another defender to get the ball out of his hands and just scramble out of that. They didn’t like it at all. I think it was their worst quarter.”

• New forward Pascal Siakam led the way with 31 points, with Indiana winning for the second time in two nights — over Philadelphia and Phoenix. Both games came without injured All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton.

Hawks

The Hawks seemingly tried everything, but could not slow Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who scored 73 points in Dallas’ win on Friday.

Forward Jalen Johnson opened as Atlanta’s primary defender on Doncic. Forward Saddiq Bey, guard Dejounte Murray and others gave it their best as well. No luck.

“He was hot. He was going,” guard Trae Young said. “We were trying everything. We were trying to trap him.”

• Young returned from a two-game absence after suffering a concussion. He finished with 30 points.
• The Hawks’ rematch with the Mavs in Dallas, originally scheduled for April 5, has been moved to April 4, the league announced.

Raptors

• Center Jakob Poeltl missed his ninth straight game on Friday because of a sprained left ankle. And that wasn’t even the worst part. Forward Jontay Porter also had to exit the loss to the Clippers after just four minutes because of irritation in his eye. Porter left the Raptors’ to Memphis after being poked in the eye.
• Toronto fell to 0-8 against forward Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers since Leonard left the franchise. They spent one season together and won the 2019 championship.
• The retooling Raptors have made all but about three players available ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline. We have that full story here.