Smits Leads Pacers, One Foot At A Time

April 18, 1998 / 1:46 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Rik Smits' feet feel fine, giving the hot Indiana Pacers more optimism heading into the playoffs.

Smits came off the bench to score 17 points in 24 minutes as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Toronto Raptors 107-98 Friday night for their seventh consecutive victory. Both marks were highs in the four games since Smits rejoined the team after missing seven games due to foot pain.

"They probably feel the best they've felt in the last two years," Smits said. "I'm real excited. My game is a little rusty, but the feet are feeling great."

"Rik is doing great and the more he plays, the more he will get back to playing the way he was before the feet problems," said Antonio Davis, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds as he started in place of Smits for the 11th consecutive game.

Dale Davis had 20 points, making 9-of-13 shots from the field, and reserve Jalen Rose 19 as the Pacers won for the ninth time in 10 games.

"We always like Dale to score. That really helps our offense and when he scores like that, we usually win," Indiana coach Larry Bird said. "Jalen's been awesome. He played both ends of the court. He has really stepped it up."

Doug Christie had 24 points for the Raptors, who are winless in 12 games against Indiana. Marcus Camby scored 20 for Toronto, which lost for the 16th time in 17 games.

"We were a little inconsistent in the second half," Camby said.

"One of the things we need to work on is substitution patterns," Toronto coach Butch Carter said. "This team hurt us because they were taller."

The Raptors stayed close in the first half before the Pacers pulled away to lead by as many as 13 points seven times in the fourth quarter.

There were 12 lead changes and six ties in the first half when both teams lacked defensive intensity. Indiana led 61-57 at the break after allowing five points in the final six-tenths of a second. First, Dee Brown hit a 3-pointer and the Raptors got the ball back under their basket when Indiana's inbounds pass sailed off the court without being touched.

Christie then took the inbounds pass and hit a jumper at the buzzer.

Rose had 10 consecutive points as Indiana moved ahead to stay, including a jumper that gave the Pacers a 40-39 lead in the second quarter. The Pacers went on to lead by as many as 10 in the quarter.

Indiana, which has never lost to either Canadian-based team, went on to lead 78-66 in the third quarter when Toronto had eight of its 17 turnovers.

The Raptors got no closer than nine points again.

Chris Mullin, who had been scoreless after missing his first five shots up to that point, had seven points in a 11-5 run that produced the lead in the third quarter. He ignited the run with a 3-pointer with 7:49 lef in the quarter and ended it with a layup with 3:53 to go.

Notes: Rose reached double figures for the eighth consecutive game with 14 points in the second quarter. ... Toronto had seven blocks, increasing its league-leading total to 647. San Antonio began the night a distant second with 558. ... Camby, who went into the game with a league-leading 3.57 blocks per game, had two. ... Indiana is 18-0 against Vancouver and Toronto since the teams came into the league three seasons ago. ... The victory gave Indiana a 58-23 record, assuring the team of setting a franchise record for winning percentage. The only time the Pacers have won more was in the ABA when they had 59 victories in an 84-game schedule. ... The Pacers are 25-0 when they score 100 points.