Pacers End Skid--Blast Raptors

April 12, 1999 / 11:45 PM EDT / CBS/AP

It had never happened to the Pacers before, and they made sure it didn't happen again.

After losing to the Toronto Raptors 88-87 in April for the first time ever, Indiana defeated the Raptors with a 109-99 victory Monday to snap a short two-game losing skid.

"They didn't surprise us last time," said Pacers' coach Larry Bird, whose club is 14-1 overall against the four-year club. "We know they are a pretty good team and they're going to be better every time we come in here."

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Dale Davis led the Pacers with 21 points and seven rebounds. Toronto rookie Vince Carter led all scorers with 29 points as Toronto lost its fourth straight game.

Unlike their last meeting which went down to the wire, this time the Raptors, which had won 13 of their last 17 games, never led.

Rik Smits had 18 points and Reggie Miller added 17 for Indiana. Mark Jackson had 10 assists and nine points.

"Toronto never quits," Davis said. "We wanted to be more focused, (but) we gave up too much on the offensive boards. If we had cut that down in the first half it would have been game over."

The Pacers won despite being outrebounded 52-38.

Kevin Willis had 19 boards, while reserve Tracy McGrady had a season-high 21 points and 10 rebounds.

"We knew they would jump out and try to prove a point," said Willis, who also had 15 points. "They underestimated us last time, but this time they came out fully loaded."

The Raptors closed to within six points three times in the fourth quarter, but Travis Best deflated each drive, twice with three-pointers and then with a pair of free throws with 1:25 remaining to put the Pacers ahead 99-91.

Best scored all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter.

The Pacers jumped out to a 8-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game. The Raptors shot 21 percent from he field (6-for-28) in the quarter and found themselves down 28-16 after 12 minutes.

"I don't think we played well," Carter said. "We had a slow first quarter and that hurt us."

The Pacers will play Orlando Wednesday at home in a battle of division leaders in the Eastern Conference while the Raptors head off for Philadelphia Wednesday for a battle for the eighth playoff spot. Notes: The Pacers went 7-for-16 (44 percent) from the three-point line. ... The Raptor record for rebounds in a game was set by Popeye Jones Dec. 11, 1996 with 21 in triple overtime against Boston. ... Pacers' Sam Perkins left the game in the second quarter with a dislocated finger on his right hand. ... The Pacers activated forward Derrick McKey from the injured list in place of guard Fred Hoiberg (lower back spasms). Both teams' losing streaks came on the heals of winning streaks, Toronto (six games) and Indiana (three).