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Lowry and DeRozan continue to struggle, Pacers tie series at 2-2


Now, it's a series ...

In Game 4 of the first-round series between the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors on Saturday afternoon, Indiana took a commanding lead out of the starting gates, and never allowed the Raptors to get into the game at all.

From a 28-14 start, to 57-42 at halftime, to an eventual 100-83 victory, the Pacers protected Bankers Life Fieldhouse to tie the series at two games apiece.

Leading the charge for Indiana was Ian Mahinmi, who scored a career-high 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds and five assists. George Hill matched Mahinmi's 22, and Paul George went for 19.

For Toronto, the shooting woes from their All-Star backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan continued to hinder the team's overall performance, as the two once again showed no resemblance to the players who led the team to the No. 2 seed in the East.

Lowry played 36 minutes before fouling out late in the fourth quarter, only scoring 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting. DeRozan was even colder, scoring just eight points on 4-of-15 shooting with six turnovers to go along with it. Neither of them have shot above 40% in a game so far this series, but Lowry remains confident.

"I feel like the shots I'm personally taking, and DeMar is taking, they're shots we've made all year," Lowry said. "...They're shots I'm comfortable with taking, they're just not falling right now. But I'm not gonna shy away from taking them, and I feel like the same thing with DeMar."

With four games in the books, this now becomes a best-of-three series, and the Pacers will travel back to Toronto for Game 5 on Tuesday. 

Follow AJ Neuharth-Keusch on Twitter @tweetAJNK