TORONTO -- When Lou Williams wasn't knocking down three-pointers, he was taking charges, and doling out assists.
The Raptors guard scored 26 points off the bench to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 106-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday, stepping up once again in the absence of injured all-star DeMar DeRozan.
Williams led a Raptors bench that outscored its visitors 64-45, with James Johnson scoring 13, Patrick Patterson chipping in with 11, and Greivis Vasquez adding 10.
Jonas Valanciunas finished with 10 points to go with a game-high 14 rebounds for Toronto (17-6), which was playing its seventh game without DeRozan (torn groin tendon). The Raptors are 4-3 without him.
Solomon Hill scored 16 points to top the Pacers (7-16) in their seventh straight loss -- Indiana's longest losing skid in five seasons.
The game marked the Raptors' first of six in a row against teams with losing records, a welcome relief after Tuesday's 105-101 loss at Cleveland -- their second defeat in five days to the Cavs.
The Raptors led virtually from the opening whistle, and were up by as many as 13 points before taking an 80-72 lead into the fourth in front of another capacity crowd of 19,800 -- the Raptors' 10th consecutive sellout -- at the Air Canada Centre.
Williams, Vasquez and Johnson combined early in the fourth to propel the Raptors to a 19-point lead. The Pacers pulled to within 14 points with 2:39 to play, but Williams calmly drilled another three coming out of a timeout, putting the Raptors up by 17 and the game, out of reach.
Williams shot 9-for-18 from the field, and 5-for-7 from beyond the arc.
The Pacers were No. 2 in the league in rebounding coming into the game, providing Toronto with what coach Dwane Casey said was a "huge" test. Rebounding has been the Raptors' one big inconsistency this season.
"I don't know if it's a good test or not, but it's important. . . We've really got to make sure we get them off the boards, everybody," Casey said pre-game. "That's a huge concern for us, just their physicality, how strong they are, how they just pound you in the paint, on the boards. . ."
Mission accomplished: the Raptors outrebounded their visitors 52-39.
Landry Fields started in place of DeRozan, and led the way in a first quarter that saw the Raptors lead by nine. They took a 28-20 advantage into the second.
Williams drained three of four three-point attempts for 12 points in the seocnd quarter, and the Raptors went ahead by 13 points on an alley-oop layup from Amir Johnson with 4:28 left in the half. They took a 53-42 advantage into the break.
The Pacers shot 54 per cent in the third, outscoring Toronto 30-27 in the frame to pull to within four points. But Toronto was up by eight heading into the final 12 minutes.
NOTES: The Raptors are in New York to face the Knicks on Sunday, then return home to host the Orlando Magic on Monday, and the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. . . Former Toronto Maple Leaf Wendel Clark had a courtside seat. . . The Raptors won two of three meetings with Indiana last season.
