Tyrese Haliburton's 30-point performance led the Indiana Pacers to a win over the Toronto Raptors.

TORONTO — At 6-foot-3, Javon Freeman-Liberty is the perfect height to be a point guard, but he had never played the position until he joined the Toronto Raptors.

This is changing quickly.

Freeman-Liberty had a career-high 20 points, eight rebounds and two assists as the Raptors fell to the Indiana Pacers 140-123 in the final home game of a disappointing season in Toronto on Tuesday. He started at the point for the Raptors in place of Immanuel Quickley, who was on night off.

“Just go out there and play my game, be aggressive,” said Freeman-Liberty, whose previous best was 16 points on April 3 in a 133-85 loss at Minnesota. “Don't try to go out of your way or do too much.

“Honestly, take what the defense gives me.”

Freeman-Liberty said that while he never plays the point, he tries to help his teammates score. He said the biggest adjustment was calling plays and organizing his teammates.

“I'm a very quiet guy, I don't say too much,” Freeman-Liberty said. “In this league, you have to talk and you have to talk loud. One of the biggest things is using my voice.”

Mississauga's RJ Barrett scored 23 points as Toronto (25-54) snapped its modest two-game winning streak. Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, BC added 22 points with five boards and four assists.

Tyrese Haliburton had 30 points, five rebounds and five assists to help Indiana (46-34) to its third straight win. Former Raptors star Pascal Siakam scored 16 points with nine rebounds and Myles Turner warmed up the crowd before adding 16 points.

Toronto is out of the NBA postseason. The Raptors' final three games of the campaign are Wednesday in Brooklyn, followed by back-to-back games in Miami on Friday and Sunday.

“It's been a tough season,” Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic said before the game. “Everybody in this organization is working really, really hard to change that.

“They're all excited about the summer and the opportunities ahead of us and we're really focused on getting better and winning more games in the future.”

Toronto's first-round pick in this summer's NBA draft is still up in the air. The Raptors have the sixth-worst record in the league, but if the May 12 draft lottery moves them to seventh or lower in the selection order, the pick will automatically go to the San Antonio Spurs as part of last year's trade for center Jacob Poelt.

Toronto has a 37.2% chance of landing one of the top four picks in the draft and a nine% chance of the first overall pick. However, the Raptors have a more than 50 percent chance of finishing seventh or worse.

Freeman-Liberty got hot to start the game, scoring nine points as the Raptors went on a 15-4 run. Toronto continued to roll, closing out the top 35-25 as Freeman-Liberty scored 14 points in the quarter, joining Scotty Barnes as the only Raptors rookie to score at least 14 points in the first quarter in the last 20 seasons. .

“It's not a position he's used to playing a lot, so he's playing out of position,” Rajakovic said. “He does a really good job of keeping us organized, communicating and trying to learn quickly.

“Especially in the first half and the first quarter, he did a really good job of managing the team and managing our teams.”

Indiana outscored the Raptors 40-29 in the second quarter, largely thanks to a 33-12 run. Haliburton tied it with a pair of free throws, then Myles Turner drilled a 24-foot three-pointer for the Pacers' first lead of the game and the visitors took a 65-64 halftime lead.

Turner came alive in the third, scoring 10 of his points in the quarter. That helped Indiana take a 106-91 lead going into the final frame.

Haliburton had 10 points, three rebounds and two assists in the fourth quarter alone as the Pacers pushed their lead to 18 over the final 12 minutes of the game.

UP NEXT – The Raptors travel to Brooklyn to face the Nets on Wednesday.

Indiana continues its road trip on Friday with a stop against the Cavaliers in Cleveland.

This Canadian Press report was first published on April 9, 2024.