The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Outmanned Cavs still have Raptors’ number
The Cavaliers have been the monster under the bed for the Toronto Raptors the last two years.
When the lights go out — or, more accurately, when the lights get brighter in the playoffs — LeBron James peeks out from the night shadows and chills the team from Canada with his intimidating death stare.
After what happened March 21 at Quicken Loans Arena, the Raptors should be worried with the start of the postseason less than a month away.
The Cavaliers, undermanned with five players out of the lineup, had no business beating the Raptors, owners of the best record in the Eastern Conference (now 53-19). But beat them they did, 132129, on another historic night for James.
James had 35 points, seven rebounds and 17 assists — without a turnover. He is the first player in NBA history to dish out that many helpers without turning it over.
The Cavs played without Tristan Thompson (ankle), Kyle Korver (personal reasons), Larry Nance (hamstring) Cedi Osman (hip strain) and Rodney Hood (lower back) and still managed to outscore Toronto, 68-50, in the second half.
It was a gutty, we’llshow-you performance by the Cavaliers and erased the Raptors beating the Cavs, 133-99, in Toronto on Jan. 11. The teams meet for the final time in the regular season on April 3 at The Q.
“I always say there is one game during the season that changes your team,” interim coach Larry Drew said after the stunning victory on March 21. “That game can be early, midway, it can be late, but there’s always one game that changes your team’s mindset.
“I really believe tonight’s game might have done that for us, particularly because we’re shorthanded and No. 2 because we played a really good basketball team and because we came back from a deficit. Very few teams do that against this team.”
The Cavaliers and Raptors met in the Eastern Conference finals in 2016. The Cavs won the first two games in Cleveland, but then the Raptors won two in Toronto and had momentum. That is, until the series returned to The Q.
The Cavs won Game 5 in 2016 in Cleveland, 114-111, in overtime on May 24 two years ago in a game that sapped the energy from the Raptors. The Cavaliers crushed them two nights later in Toronto, 113-97.
After the upset on March 21, the Cavs are 8-1 against Toronto in the last nine games at The Q.
Last year the Cavaliers and Raptors finished tied for second in the NBA East with 51-31 records. The Cavaliers won the regular-season series with Toronto, three games to one, and then swept the Raptors, 4-0, in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
If the Cavaliers and Raptors meet in the playoffs again this year it would likely be in the Eastern finals the way the standings are set now. Heading into the March 21 game, Toronto had a fivegame lead on the secondplace Celtics. The Celtics were 6.5 games ahead of the third-place Cavaliers.
“I hope NBA players have short memories,” Raptors coach Dwayne Casey said before the game… “We understand they beat a lot of people last year in the playoffs. They beat Boston last year in the playoffs and the year before that Golden State (in the 2016 Finals).
“It’s a new day, a new team. We have to go in with the confidence and swagger against everybody — not just Cleveland. Last year is last year. This year is this year.”
Casey should keep telling himself and his players that over and over again, because the way the Cavaliers beat them again at The Q, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Raptors start looking for the monster under the bed again.
Reach Schudel at JSchudel@NewsHerald.com. On Twitter: @jsproinsider