The Toronto Raptors will be trying to leave the ghosts of their past postseason series behind and move to the second round of the ongoing NBA playoffs when they host the visiting Indiana Pacers at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday night.

The series is currently tied with both teams winning three games apiece. Whenever a matchup comes to a decider, the pressure for any side involved gets a lot stronger, however, in this case, it is clearly more on the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment-owned basketball organization.

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The Raptors failed to capitalize on their advantage in the Game six win-or-go-home showdown and lost the game's momentum with a 101-83 defeat at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse last April 30.

Although they have the luxury of playing at home, the Raptors had never won a seven-game series. Toronto appeared in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2001, where they defeated the New York Knicks in the first round with a 3-2 series win.

The three-time Atlantic Division champions are on the brink of a third consecutive year of failing to advance to the second round. The Washington Wizards eliminated the team with a 4-0 sweep in 2015 and they wasted a 3-2 series lead in 2014 against the Brooklyn Nets.

"The season would be a failure if we don't get out of the first round and give ourselves a chance to play in the second round," Toronto's starting guard DeMar DeRozan, who averaging 15.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in the series, said. "We understand that."

The Pacers, on the other hand, had won three of the seven Game seven games they had played, with most recently in the first round against the Atlanta Hawks in 2014. The Paul George-led squad is now looking to become the sixth No. seven seed to be the victor in an opening-round series since the playoffs expanded in 1984.

Tags Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers, NBA 2016, 2016 nba playoffs, DeMar DeRozan, Paul George, kyle lowry, myles turner