“It says a lot about our guys’ character and resiliency”, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “To see things like that is definitely frustrating, and the only way to shut it up is to go out there and play”.
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The Toronto Raptors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-84 to give them their first loss this postseason.
“Channing [Frye] started the fourth quarter, and it was just the way the flow of the game was going”, Lue said. I need to match that and be just as aggressive. “He gets killed on that play (by Dahntay Jones)”, Casey fumed after the game. Can the Raptors continue to play this well and can the Cavaliers continue to play this poorly over the rest of the series? He finished with 7 points, 26 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
“It’s over with”, Casey said before the fine. It’s a splendid way to reward both offensive and defensive players and nobody is doing it, so I will. He’s done it all year.
Just like any National Basketball Association team, the Raptors will go as far as their all-stars take them (are you sensing a theme yet?).
Bismack Biyombo landed multiple punches with his relentless tenacity on the boards. “And my job is to protect the paint, no matter what”.
“When he’s on your team, you love him to death”, DeRozan said. “There has to be some consistency”.
I always think back to the Jay Z phrase and the line he had of, ‘If I shoot you, then I’m brainless. DeMarre Carroll and Patrick Patterson wasted a number of open looks, but managed 10 points each and defended smartly.
“I’m not trying to sell a call”, James said, when asked about the incident.
LeBron James scored 24 points, and J.R. Smith had 22 for the Cavaliers. Again, if there’s any big takeaway from this game, it was the self destruction of the offense for Cleveland. Without those three dominating the game the Cavs don’t break the records they do.
After the game, naturally, reporters had questions for LBJ about Biyombo’s pesky play, which also riled up Cavs forward Tristan Thompson earlier in the game. The Cavs will need a better game from the Big Three if they want to avoid going back to Cleveland with a tied series. James recovered to make a 3 in the final seconds, but Cleveland trailed 60-47 at halftime.
With his team ahead by eight, Biyombo scored six straight points in the fourth to put the Raptors up 91-77 at 3:38. The Cavaliers were held below 100 points for the first time in these playoffs.
Richard Jefferson made a layup with 6:38 to play to cut Toronto’s lead to 10.
The Cavs shot 16 free throws to Toronto’s 13, and Casey was particularly upset by the perceived fouls on Bismack Biyombo that went ignored.
After Biyombo got tangled with Irving, Thompson got in Biyombo’s face and Raptors guard Cory Joseph moved in to intervene.
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Joseph’s pullup jumper with 1:38 to play restored Toronto’s 14-point lead.
