Cavs no match for Leonard, Raptors
Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points, Fred VanVleet added 15 and the Toronto Raptors won their eighth straight game despite missing All-Star guard Kyle Lowry, 106-95 over the Cavaliers on Saturday night in Cleveland.
Danny Green and Pascal Siakam added 15 apiece as the Raptors improved the NBA’s best record to 20-4, reaching the 20-win mark quicker than at any time in their history. Toronto also is a league-best 10-2 on the road.
Lowry missed his first game this season with an unspecified back injury. Raptors coach Nick Nurse didn’t provide any details about Lowry’s back other than to say it flared up earlier in the day.
VanVleet started in place of Lowry, the league’s assist leader. With the Cavs still within striking Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson, right, tries to grab a loose ball ahead of Toronto’s Danny Green during Saturday’s game.
distance, VanVleet dropped a backbreaking 3-pointer with 2:08 left to put Toronto up 10.
Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points and Tristan Thompson had 18 points with 19 rebounds for the Cavs, who hung around but lost their fourth in a
row and dropped to 4-18.
Cleveland, which sustained its worst loss of the season on Friday in Boston, did get healthier as starting guard George Hill returned after missing 11 games with a sprained right shoulder. Hill scored eight
in 19 minutes.
Toronto was making its first visit to Quicken Loans Arena since May, when the Raptors were swept in four games by Cleveland in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Of course that Raptors team didn’t have Leonard, who came over in a July trade from San Antonio and has given Toronto fans hope that this might finally be the year.
PISTONS 111, WARRIORS 102: ROCKETS 121, BULLS 105: KNICKS 136, BUCKS 134, OT: