(REUTERS) – The Toronto Raptors delivered every ounce of effort they promised fans before their NBA home opener against Indiana but it was not enough to secure the victory as the Pacers ran out 90-85 winners. All five of Indiana’s starters finished with double digits, led by 21 points from Danny Granger, to maintain their unbeaten start to the lockout-shortened season, while the Raptors dropped to 1-1.
Paul George contributed 18 points to the victory while David West had 14 and Roy Hibbert 12 to go along with 10 rebounds as the Pacers (2-0) fought off a spirited fourth quarter rally.
On a frosty night better suited to ice hockey than basketball, Toronto fans gave the Raptors a warm welcome back showing no signs of any lingering grudges from a bitter labour dispute.
The opening night festivities began with the team thanking fans for their support and Jamaal Magloire, the first Canadian to play for Raptors, telling the crowd they would get a good effort every night for their money.
A good effort is all Toronto fans might hope for from a young rebuilding team that have gone out of their way to play down expectations this season and they could not complain about the scrappy spirit the team showed in the fourth quarter when they trailed by 14 and chopped the deficit to just two with 95 seconds left.
DeMar DeRozan led the charge, scoring 14 of his game-high 22 points in the final quarter, but Toronto could not complete the comeback as the Pacers held on for the win.
“We gave ourselves a chance,” Raptors rookie head coach Dwane Casey said. “We weren’t playing against chop liver.
“I cannot fault our effort. We clawed back in, I thought DeMar came to life the second half but we have to put in a 48-minute collective effort together. It wasn’t from a lack of effort. The guys competed, didn’t give in and got back in it with our defence.”
The highlight of the night came early for Raptors fans, with Andrea Bargnani putting the first points on the board with a thundering dunk to delight the capacity crowd but Toronto trailed 18-11 after the opening quarter.
A 14-6 run in the second put Toronto briefly in front but the Pacers regained control before the break taking a 38-34 advantage that they did not surrender into the intermission.
The Pacers widened their lead in the third to 63-55 before the Raptors began to claw their way back.
Bargnani finished with 21 points while Jerryd Bayless was the only other Raptor to hit double digits with 13 points.
“It says something about our heart,” said Casey. “The guys competed, they didn’t give in tonight against a good Indiana team. Indiana are one of the top defensive teams, they are big strong, aggressive and they are going to be in the playoff hunt when the time comes.”

SPURS DAMPEN CLIPPERS
San Antonio squashed some of the hype surrounding the revamped Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday with a 115-90 victory that lifted the Spurs to 2-0 in the new season.
A blockbuster trade for point guard Chris Paul, and the acquisition of starters Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler, created a buzz about the Clippers that only grew after their season-opening victory over Golden State on Sunday.
However, San Antonio brought them crashing back to earth on Wednesday with Manu Ginobili scoring 24 points and DeJuan Blair adding 20. The Spurs shot 56 percent for the game.
San Antonio padded a four-point half-time lead into a 25-point advantage in the third, making 16-of-21 shots to add 38 to their tally. Tony Parker added 10 of his 14 points in the decisive quarter to go with his nine assists.
At the other end, San Antonio smothered Los Angeles during the second half where they held them to just 36 points.
“Tonight the best part of our game was our defence,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters. “Shots went in tonight. Some nights they don’t drop, but the one thing you can control is your defensive intensity.”
Blake Griffin led the Clippers (1-1) with 28 points and nine rebounds and four other Clippers finished in double digits, including Paul with 10.
But Los Angeles had trouble defending the wily Spurs who drained 10 three-pointers on the night, including five from Ginobili. Richard Jefferson also made three and finished with 19 points.
“They shot 52 percent from three, it’s tough to win like that,” Griffin said. “They hit some tough shots; you have to give it to them. We have to make sure we come out on our game after halftime.”