Raptors go down fighting in Cleveland
BATTLE ROYAL: King James outscores De Rozan as Cavaliers hold off Toronto 121-117 in wild finish
CLEVELAND — It was the playoff game in Ohio we didn’t see last spring when the Toronto Raptors met the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference final. A nail-biting, close until the very end thriller, eventually won by the defending NBA champions 121-117.
But the Raptors went down fighting in a physical, high-scoring battle royal.
DeMar DeRozan might be feeling a little bit like Neo from the Matrix these days, able to slow down the game as he notches huge scoring numbers on a nightly basis, but four-time MVP LeBron James has been defying physics since the day he entered the league and was the difference in this one.
If James wasn’t scoring himself, he was finding teammates — usually Channing Frye — beyond the arc for three-pointers.
James ended up with 28 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds, making two-thirds of his shots.
It was a wild finish. Not long after a Kyle Lowry technical foul (Lowry’s take: “I’ll save my money”) Frye waited out the Toronto defence and nailed his fifth trey of the game to restore a two-point Cavs edge with 59 seconds remaining. DeRozan then missed a three, Cleveland rebounded and James somehow got free for a layup following a timeout.
A Lowry miss was hauled in by James, but he got called for an offensive foul for flattening Patrick Patterson with an elbow. A makeup call foul (offensive call on Jonas Valanciunas) basically sealed the deal.
The best sign of the night for the Raptors was the return to form of Lowry, who had by far his top outing of the season (28 points, nine assists, five rebounds, including 50 per cent shooting on three-pointers), though he wasn’t impressed.
“It was just a high octane offensive game, but for us, we can’t play like that,” Lowry said. “We base our team and our game on defence and we’ve got to get that back. We’ve got to find a way to get our defence more involved.”
The Raptors had won 6-of-7 since falling to the Cavs on Oct. 28 in the second game of the season and were eager to get another crack at the them, especially at Quicken Loans Arena, where Toronto has not found any success (the playoff losses there were by 31, 19 and 38 points).
DeRozan had said earlier in the day it would be an “opportunity to redeem ourselves.”
DeRozan tossed in another 26 points, but his efficiency wasn’t there (just 10-for-27 shooting).
Kevin Love tossed in 16 of his 19 points in the first half for Cleveland, while Tristan Thompson of Brampton, Ont., scored 15, missing only one of eight field-goal attempts and added 11 rebounds. Cleveland pulverized Toronto on the glass in the first half, but the Raptors turned the tables from there.
Lowry’s shot was falling from the start and it didn’t stop.
The plucky Raptors hung with the champs, even taking the lead several times, including late in the fourth quarter, thanks to Lowry’s magic.
And as well as DeRozan has been playing, he wasn’t at that level on Tuesday and there is only one James, only one top player of this generation.
“He thinks the game,” Norm Powell said when asked why James is such a tough cover. “He doesn’t let anything faze him, he’s great with facilitating, getting to his spots and knowing where the defence is going to be at before they are even there. When you think you’ve got him trapped, he’s making a great pass to a teammate that’s wide open.”
And that kept happening all evening long.
Now, the Raptors will have to find a way to rebound in time for a home date with the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, only hours after the conclusion of this tough battle.
Terrence Ross was looking forward to following up with a crack at Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Co.
“That’s what we get paid for,” Ross said. “It’s tough, but at the same time, it’s fun, going out there and meeting up to that challenge and playing well.”