CAVS: A whole lotta Love, finally,

Reluctant centre breaks out with 31-point effort in Cavs’ rout of Raptors

Four minutes into the third quarter of Toronto’s 128-110 loss to the Cavaliers, Raptors allstar DeMar DeRozan drove to the hoop only to have his shot blocked by Cleveland’s reluctant centre, Kevin Love.

That stop triggered a fast break that ended in a layup for George Hill, a nine-point lead for the Cavaliers, and a timeout for the Raptors.

And it provided yet another payoff for Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue’s decision to play Love at centre. Love had made plain his positional preference — power forward — but responded to Lue’s assignment with his best game of the playoffs: 31 points,11 rebounds, and sorely-needed support for superstar LeBron James.

The Cavs knew toppling the top-seeded Raptors would mean diversifying an offence that leaned heavily on James in their first-round series against Indiana. But Love also realized he needed to rediscover his offence after scoring just seven points in the series opener.

“It gave me a lift to see the ball go through the basket,” said the 30-year-old Love. “Last game I had a point-blank hook shot (and) an point-blank layup that didn’t go in for me … You just have to find ways to fight through it, get over the hump and really affect the game in different ways.” Mid-week Love discussed with reporters his discomfort at playing centre, and Game 1’s stat line backed him up. Where Love converted just three field goals, Raptors centre Jonas Valanciunas opened the series with 21 points and 21 rebounds.

But Lue insisted his club had a more balanced offence with Love starting in the middle and Canadian centre Tristan Thompson contributing as a substitute. Lue said playing Love at centre created mismatches for him and better shots for other Cavs, and thought Thursday night’s 128point outburst proved his theory.

“He knocked some (shots) down early tonight, and that opened the floor for LeBron,” Lue said. “When (Love) is playing fast with fives guarding him, this is how he can play.”

By midway through the second quarter, Love had found his range and rhythm. When the halftime buzzer sounded, Love had already scored 18 points, tying him with Raptors guard Kyle Lowry as the game’s leading scorer through two quarters. His halftime total also represented Love’s best scoring output since he scored 19 in Game 3 of Cleveland’s opening round series against Indiana.

“That’s the wild card,” said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. “Whether it’s Love, the other night it was (Kyle) Korver and (J.R.) Smith. I thought we held those guys in … check. But Love got going on us and that was a difficult matchup for us.”

The Cavs’ first-round playoff series saw James become just the fourth player in NBA playoff history to lead his team in scoring while averaging more than three times as many points as his club’s second-leading scorer. That setup carried the Cavs past the Pacers in seven hard-fought games, but didn’t figure to sustain them against the tough opponents they’d find later in the playoffs.

James’ teammates have increased their contributions accordingly.

Five Cavaliers scored in double figures in Game 1, and five scored at least 10 points on Thursday.