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INDIANAPOLIS - There are a few common denominators between the Indiana Pacers and the reigning champion Miami Heat, with the number of similarities growing each day. Both teams were conference finalists a year ago, both clubs have an unmistakable identity that defines them, both play unselfish, defence-first basketball and in the last four days, both have reminded the Raptors how far they are from competing at their level. For Toronto, Fridays meeting with the still undefeated Pacers came to an unofficial end before most of the home teams fans could make it back to their seats. As good as the Raptors looked in the first half and as hard as they worked to look that good, Indiana reclaimed what was, as they knew it, rightfully theirs in less than three revealing minutes. "We knew they were going to come out and throw their best haymaker at us," Dwane Casey said, his team leading by as many as 12 in the first half and holding on to a two-point advantage at the break. Everyone knew they would, because thats what great teams do. Indiana opened the second half scoring 10 straight points, forcing three turnovers and holding Toronto to 0-of-4 shooting. Just like that, Torontos 24 minutes of (mostly) hard work was more than erased and the game was over. You could see it on the faces of players sitting on both benches as Casey was forced to call a quick third-quarter timeout to regroup. The Pacers had been in this position before, more than you would guess though six games this season. There was no panic, there was no time for sulking. They knew they had it. The Raptors body language spoke louder than words. They knew it was only a matter of time now. "[There are] no moral victories in this one," Kyle Lowry stated and Rudy Gay echoed minutes later. "We lost." The Pacers matched a franchise record - previously set in 1970-71 as an ABA team - winning six straight to begin a season. They havent allowed a team to score more than 91 points or shoot over 40 per cent. They havent scored 100 points, but they havent needed to. "I dont know if the history of [it] is as [important] as the fact that we have to lead on our goal," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said before the game. "And our goal is the number one seed. Were off to a good start and we all understand the importance of each game when our goal is so high." Theyve trailed at halftime in five of their six games, but it hasnt mattered. When youre a team as good as the Pacers, you can afford to bide your time. The Raptors learned that from the Heat on Monday when the defending champs started Torontos losing streak. The Pacers sent them home with that same effortless spanking, extending the Raptors skid to three and reminding them why Wednesdays disappointing loss to the Bobcats was so disappointing. They need to take advantage of winnable games because in this league, if youre a middling team, theyre few and far between. "There are no moral victories," Gay repeated. "We want to get this next one, thats it. We have to get this next one. The more we put ourselves in a hole, the more important the next game is and the next game is pretty important for us." The Raptors host the winless Utah Jazz in the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday. Its not a game they can afford to lose. George vs. Gay The match-up at small forward was a fun one in Indiana Friday night. Gay and the Pacers rising superstar Paul George combined for 53 points, 30 per cent of the total offence in the game. Gay - who came into the game struggling, shooting just 34 per cent - was red-hot out of the gate. The Raptors leading scorer looked like the player of old, scoring 14 of his teams 32 first-quarter points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. He would go on to shoot just 3-of-13 in the second half, finishing the evening with an even 30 points but needing 26 shots to get there. "You can talk about Paul George, but I thought Rudy outplayed him," Casey said. "They won the game, but talking about individual matchups, Rudy played the game hes supposed to play." George was outscored by his counterpart, pouring in 23 on the night, but hardly outplayed with 17 of his points coming in the third quarter when his team needed him the most and the game was ultimately decided. The Pacers all-star forward, who came into the game fifth in scoring, has had at least 21 points in each of his teams six contests. A gifted two-way player, hes every bit the superstar he was paid to be this summer. As George stepped to the line with 11 seconds remaining, he was greeted by a chorus of MVP chants. Although anointing an MVP six games into the season is as silly as it sounds, hes playing at that level and thats the direction the 23-year-old is headed. Hes that good. Learning from the best The Raptors coaching staff, like most teams with young and impressionable big men, have been using the Pacers Roy Hibbert as a model for the 21-year-old Valanciunas. Offensively, the Raptors sophomore centre continues to make strides but, as head coach Casey reminds us, he still has a ways to go on the defensive end. The team hopes he will one day become the anchor that Indianas all-star big man has grown into on both ends of the floor. "He does such a good job of getting deep post position," Casey said of Hibbert, who scored 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting. "Where he got JV last year was reposting, kicking it out and reposting up so on that second one, if you relax at all, all you can do is pray." One technique Torontos staff continues to preach with Valanciunas is something Hibbert has perfected in his sixth NBA season. To stay out of foul trouble and contest shots in the lane, the Raptors want Valanciunas to go straight up, remaining vertical without bringing his arms down in the process. "We give him the respect of calling it the Hibbert play," Casey said of the technique. "Hes one of the best in the league at doing that and thats where JV is getting much better." "Im trying to be like him with that skill," Valanciunas noted. But its not something Hibbert - the leagues early-season shot block leader - picked up overnight, one of the reasons Casey preaches patience with the development of his young centre. "It takes a lot of time," Pacers coach Frank Vogel acknowledged. "Its one of the things I think most of the big men in the NBA are working to achieve now. I think thats the way that Roy has set the model for how its done." Friday was one of those nights that Casey calls a "learning experience" for Valanciunas. One of his roughest of the young season, Valanciunas scored just four points in 24 minutes, committing five fouls and two turnovers. He was out-muscled by Hibbert, beat off the dribble by quicker players, exposed on switches and missed defensive assignments. The Pacers star big man is a good example of what Valanciunas can grow into but he also serves as a reminder that it takes time. Cheap Nike Shox .com) - Nate Buss 3-pointer with 5. Cheap Nike Shox Fre Shipping . The team announced the moves before Sundays game against Houston. Shaw was 1-4 with a 4.26 ERA in 43 games for the Diamondbacks. Bergesen was claimed off waivers from Baltimore on Friday. http://www.cheapnikeshox.net/. Future Hall of Famer Ricky Ray is in his prime and back for a third season in double blue. The 34-year old was magnificent in 2013, throwing for just under 2,900 yards despite missing eight games, tossing an impressive 21 touchdowns against just two interceptions, completing 66 per cent of his passes in the process. Nike Shox Cheap Mens . Portland won Game 4 Sunday night at the Moda Center and are now up 3-1. The last time the Blazers won a playoff series came in the 2000 Western Conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz. Wholesale Nike Shox . Adam LaRoche will take that. "I like our position in the standings and I like how our team is playing," LaRoche said after Washington swept a day-night doubleheader from the Cubs on Saturday.SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- DeMarcus Cousins and Jason Thompson put the perfect capper on a celebratory opening to a new era of basketball in Sacramento. Cousins had 30 points and 14 rebounds and Thompson scored the game-winner on a putback in the final minute to give Sacramento fans plenty more to cheer about than just having a team as the Kings won their season-opener 90-88 over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. "Its a sense of relief," coach Mike Malone said after winning his debut. "Opening night and there was so much hoopla going into this game, rightfully so for our fans, for our mayor, for our owner. It was a great way to celebrate. To win on this night was great for the fans most importantly and for our players." Greivis Vasquez added 17 points and Isaiah Thomas had 16 off the bench as the Kings snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Nuggets in the first game of the new regime headed by owner Vivek Ranadive and Malone. "Thats the old Kings," Cousins said. "Were not really worried about the past. This is the first game." Ty Lawson scored 20 points but missed a potential tying shot in the closing seconds for the Nuggets, who started off Brian Shaws tenure with a loss. Shaw took over for last seasons coach of the year George Karl, who was fired after a first-round playoff loss to Golden State despite winning 57 games in the regular season. "It was a raucous atmosphere but we played through it," Shaw said. "It was a crazy atmosphere tonight." The Kings are building their franchise around Cousins, giving him a $62 million, four-year contract extension before the season and giving him a tutor in new minority owner Shaquille ONeal, who sat court side for the opener. "He was coaching me through the game a lot," Cousins said. "He sent me a text at halftime. Im glad he came and supported us. Hopefully well see him around more often." Cousins backed that support up with a strong performance in the opener. Cousins made an emphatic dunk off his own miss to give the Kings an 86-82 with just under 4 minutes left and then drew an offensive foul on Lawson. Thomas followed with a bank shot and the Kings appeared in control. "He is much more than a one-way player," Malone said of Cousins. "He has to be a guy who defends at a high level for us and I thought he did a decent job of that for us tonight.dddddddddddd" But the Nuggets answered with six straight points to tie the game at 88 on J.J. Hicksons drive with 1:37 to play. Cousins came up with a blocked shot and a deflection on the defensive end for force a shot-clock violation and the Kings went back ahead when Jason Thompson followed Cousins miss with a jam with 41.5 seconds to go for his only basket of the game. "I just made an aggressive energy play and it just happened to be the game-winner," Thompson said. Lawson missed a difficult reverse over Thompson with about 1 second left. The Nuggets got the ball out of bounds with 0.9 seconds left but Randy Foye missed an off-balance jumper at the buzzer. "I got hit in the face and didnt even know what happened," Lawson said. "Someone had to tell me afterward it rolled off the rim. Ive got to make that shot." It was a party atmosphere in Sacramento with a loud crowd dressed in purple "Long Live the Sacramento Kings" T-shirts. They even cheered ONeal, their longtime antagonist who once referred to the team as "the Queens" when he played for the Lakers. The loudest cheers were for Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who was integral in keeping the Kings here and Ranadive who put up the money to accomplish it. Ranadive proclaimed "This is your team and its here to stay!" The two also thanked commissioner David Stern for his help in keeping the Kings here and gave him a key to the city and a hard hat to symbolize the upcoming project to build a new arena. The Kings fed off the energy from the crowd to get off to a fast start. Thomas scored seven points during a 12-2 run starting late in the first quarter to give Sacramento an 11-point lead. But Denver used a three-guard lineup to protect the ball better and fought back to tie the game late in the half before Travis Outlaws 3-pointer from the corner in the closing seconds gave Sacramento a 48-45 lead at the break. NOTES: Nuggets F Wilson Chandler sat out with a strained left hamstring and was replaced in the starting lineup with Anthony Randolph. ... The Kings have won the last 13 times they have opened the season at home, the longest streak in NBA history. ' ' '