Cavs dismantle Raptors in an ugly Game 2

They talked about finding some fight, about being a step quicker, about being less in awe after having their lunch handed to them in Game 1. Then the Toronto Raptors came out and had an even worse night than in the series opener, losing 125-103 in Game 2.

The team heads back to Toronto down 2-0 just like they were a year ago in the NBA Eastern Conference final and having sustained the same kind of back-to-back beatdown they got in the first two games in Ohio last season.

Whether they have the resolve of a year ago to bounce back — they won two in Toronto before falling in six — remains to be seen.

Jonas Valanciunas had 23 points to top Toronto, while Cory Joseph had 22 and Kyle Lowry shook off a third-quarter injury to finish with 20. DeMar DeRozan finished with just five points and didn’t make a field goal until early in the fourth quarter.

LeBron James had 39 points, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for second all-time in post-season scoring. Kyrie Irving added 22 for the Cavs, who made 18 of their 33 three-point attempts to Toronto’s five.

It was more of the same from Game 1 for the Raptors. Despite inserting Norman Powell and Patrick Patterson into the starting lineup to push the pace, the Raptors dug an early hole anyway.

The Cavs twisted the knife in the fourth, taking a 30-point lead with 9:32 to play on a three-pointer from Channing Frye. Raptors head coach Dwane Casey went to his bench soon after. As the last minutes ticked down, many fans had already left Quicken Loans Arena, which was a sea of yellow T-shirts and white rally towels.

The Cavs shot 55 per cent on the night to the Raptors’ 47 per cent. Toronto went just five of 17 from three-point range.