The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Exhausted Cavs show poise of champion
The Raptors are difficult to beat when everything goes well for them, but when it starts going bad — in other words, when the Cavaliers get that steely glint in their eye — the Raptors play more like parakeets.
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals started poorly for the Cavs on May 1, and no wonder, considering how they had to spend every ounce of energy to beat Indiana, 105-101, in Game 7 just two days earlier. But it ended sweetly when the Cavs won, 113-112 in overtime.
The Raptors led, 33-19, after one quarter on the strength of 62 percent shooting from the field. Common sense said that wouldn’t last just as it said the Cavaliers’ abysmal shooting wouldn’t continue; at one point the Cavaliers, excluding LeBron James, were 4 of 18 shooting.
The Cavs stormed back in the second quarter behind the hot shooting of Jeff Green and J.R. Smith. Green, a huge disappointment most of the series with Indiana, was perfect in the first half hitting 4 of 4 from the field (one was a 3-pointer) and 4 of 4 from the line.
The Cavs outscored Toronto, 38-27, in the second quarter to cut to lead Toronto lead to 60-57 at intermission.
The Cavaliers eliminated the Raptors from the playoffs in six games in 2016 and swept them last year.
Another Toronto meltdown was in the atmosphere at Air Canada Centre, and though it took an extra five minutes, the ending was the same..
The way the game went, you can expect the Cavaliers to be tested to the limit again, but the Cavs should be confident after the way the fought back in the opener. It was a game of surges. The Raptors built another double-digit lead in the third quarter and the Cavs sliced it to three points at 83-80 late in the third and again the Raptors expanded the lead to 10 at 92-82 in the fourth.
The Cavs answered again, cutting the Toronto advantage to 94-89 on a 3 by Kevin Love, who struggled to score most of the game.
Even exhausted, the Cavaliers have the poise of a champion. The Cavs kept clawing back and cut the lead to 100-99 on a 3 by James with under five minutes to play.
Finally, with 30.9 seconds to play, LeBron James hit a jumper to tie the score 105-105.
Hitting 62 percent of their shots in the first quarter was a breeze for the Raptors, but as the pressure continued to mount in the fourth quarter the diameter of their rim seemed to shrink; they missed their last 11 shots in regulation. They were 5-of-24 in the fourth quarter.
The Cavs never led until Kyle Korver made the first basket of overtime for a 108-105 lead.
And then they never trailed again.
The Raptors are better than there were in each of the last two seasons. They had to be thinking, as training camp began in September, that they would face the Cavs at some point in the playoffs. It is easy to imagine they were hoping the Pacers would knock off the Cavaliers so they wouldn’t have to live this nightmare again.
Pleasant dreams, Toronto.