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Valanciunas' double-double helps Raptors even up series 1-1

Xinhua, April 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas recorded team-highs of 23 points and 15 rebounds in a 98-87 victory over Indiana Pacers on Monday to tie 1-1 in their best four-out-of-seven NBA playoff series.

After a frustrating game 1 that saw him record 12 points and a franchise-best 19 rebounds in 21 minutes before fouling out, Valanciunas stayed out of foul trouble and played nearly 31 minutes in Monday's win to put up another double-double.

The Raptors big-man got out to a quick start with 13 points and 7 rebounds in the first quarter alone. By halftime, he had 19 points and 10 rebounds.

"I'm just doing my stuff," said a calm Valanciunas following the win in Toronto. "I'm going out there and battling. I'm going to put my heart and battle for every single ball and every single position."

With All-Stars Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan continuing to struggle with their shots, Valanciunas' effort helped carry the team in game 2.

"We all have to step up. It's not an individual sport," Valanciunas added. "Some nights are tough for Kyle, tough for DeMar, tough for me. Everybody got hard time and got to pull for each other."

In the first two games of the playoffs, DeRozan has averaged 12.0 points on 9-for-37 (24.3 percent) while Lowry has fared marginally better with 14.5 points on 7-for-26 (26.9 percent) shooting.

Meanwhile, Valanciunas has averaged team-highs of 17.5 points and 17.0 rebounds per game.

Despite being only 23 years old, the Lithuanian big man is not fazed by the pressure due to his experiences playing at home earlier in his career.

"It's just the most important moment right now. As players, you win or go home," said Valanciunas, relating the playoff-pressure to what he experienced before joining the NBA in 2012. "You got to do everything to win the game. Not just on the court, on the bench too. You got to cheer for each other, pull for each other. In the locker room, talk to each other."

As a teenager, Valanciunas led Lithuanian to 2008 FIBA Under-16, 2010 FIBA Under-18 and 2011 FIBA Under-19 Championships. He was also the MVP in all three tournaments, the only player to accomplish such a feat.

More recently, Valanciunas has helped his national team capture consecutive silver medals in EuroBasket tournaments in 2013 and 2015.

Having tied up the series at one-all, Valanciunas is not ready to relax and celebrate yet.

"Let's not get too excited. It's just game two," said Valanciunas. "We still got three to go. I got to keep it quiet and do the same thing, come with the same energy to play game three. Job is not done yet."

The series resumes on Thursday as the teams travel to Indiana to play games 3 and 4. Enditem