James had his 15th career “triple double” – double-figure statistics in three categories – and passed Shaquille O’Neal to reach fourth on the National Basketball Association career playoff scoring list.
Advertisement
The Cavaliers raced out to an eight-point lead and it looked like the Raptors were in for another long night, but a three by Ross capped a 9-0 run that put Toronto in the lead. Toronto was blown out by 31 points in Game 1, followed by a 19-point loss in Game 2.
“It adds even more when you have two All-Stars with you, two guys that command multiple eyes any possession”. To expect that from a team that’s now 10-0 in the postseason though reflects the bleak reality the Raptors are now faced with. The record of 11 wins is shared by the 2001 and 1989 Lakers.
And the Cavs are playing like it under coach Tyronn Lue, also a flawless 10 in the playoffs.
“I think we’ll be better at home, we’ve got to take advantage of the opportunity that we have upon us”, Lowry said. The Raptors won just one fewer game than the Cavs in the regular season, and they even beat them twice in three tries.
“That’s where we want to make our mark, on the defensive end, and once we settled into (the) game, it just made it a lot easier on ourselves getting out in transition”. I just was continuing and continuing to prepare and prepare for those moments that we’re in now.
The Cavaliers are succeeding by passing the ball: Cleveland is averaging 18.6 assists per 100 possessions, the highest of any James-led playoff squad. Dwane Casey seems angry and frustrated with the questions trying to get a reaction from him that translates into despair. The absence of Jonas Valanciunas was noticeable on both ends of the floor for the Raptors. Lowry only had 10 points, just two points better than his Game 1 total, and for the second consecutive game was 4-of-14 from the field. “I don’t need much motivation on Saturday”.
After two bad games in Cleveland, Kyle Lowry isn’t lacking confidence as the Eastern Conference finals shift to Toronto.
The Cavs were up as many as 19 in the third before settling for an 86-69 lead. It was 46-46 with 4:05 remaining in the half, and the Cavs closed the quarter on a 16-2 run.
“The biggest thing for Kyrie is having the trust in his (surgically repaired) knee”, Lue said. James shot 17 times from the line in game 2.
Cavs G Matthew Dellavedova tweaked his ankle in the second half, but Lue said he should be OK.
Can you imagine LeBron James, Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love leaving a game to blow off some steam in the locker room?
“It is inexplicable, and I don’t know that there’s a good reason for it”, said Redick.
Perhaps what speaks to the strength of this team the most is how often James is not on the court.
The first quarter, which ended with the Cavs up 30-28 thanks to two late buckets by Irving, was highlighted by a brief skirmish between the Cleveland point guard and Toronto center Bismack Biyombo.
“We still believe in him…”
Advertisement
The Raptors lost Games 1 and 2 by a combined 50 points. They did for the better part of a first half that saw the lead change hands 11 times.
