Larry Drew, who is 7-1 since Lue left the bench said Lue has actually been around the team quite a bit the past five or six days.
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Calderon got plenty of help, as LeBron James finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists on a night when all Cavs starters scored in double figures. DeRozan and Lowry combined for almost 50 points; Jonas Valanciunas was a flawless 6-for-6 from the floor; Delon Wright, Jakob Poeltl, and Fred VanVleet combined for 46 points; the Raps had 10 offensive rebounds to just four for the Cavs… He scored 24 points in the last game against the Cavs; DeRozan added 21 but struggled to shoot in that game.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens said he did not know whether Rozier could play Wednesday. That’s all we ask Jose to do. “I’m still coming out here to do my job”.
James has recorded four triple-doubles in 50 career games versus the Raptors and averaged 27.7 points, 7.8 assists and 7.1 rebounds lifetime against them. For Cleveland, shooting guard Kyle Korver (foot) and point guard George Hill (ankle) are both questionable. “We’re jelling at the right time”. He doesn’t do a lot of things out on the court that are very sexy, but he just gets things done and little things like that, big men have an appreciation for. This game should be a great one.
Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey dusted off Lucas Nogueira and shook the cobwebs off Norm Powell, going as far as he possibly could to coax the most important win of the season out of his team. And Toronto’s dominance continued as they closed out the quarter with a 15-7 spurt to take a comfortable 43-33 lead into the half.
The eighth-place Pelicans ended a season-worst four-game losing streak and increased their lead over idle Denver to a full game for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Cavaliers had led by 12 at 108-96 with less than a minute to go before three turnovers led to eight quick points by the Raptors.
And the formula seemed to be working a couple weeks back, too, when the Raptors dropped 79 first-half points on Cleveland and seemed to be in a good position to eke out another win. Heading into the fourth they were still down by eight.
On Tuesday night, the Raptors vs. Cavs live streaming online and televised game coverage will be available as fans watch the two Eastern Conference contenders square off.
The Raptors and Cavs have split the first two games against each other this season. It can give teams a level of confidence they wouldn’t ordinarily have, directly fueling their offensive and defensive capabilities, or it can make a team spiral out of control, sinking their playoff hopes.
The Rockets have the best record in the National Basketball Association and are already assured of the number one seed in the playoffs. They’ve already proven they can beat the Raptors when short-handed.
Mind you, this doesn’t mean DeMar DeRozan and company will have it easy at the ACC.
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Lowry is the Raptors’ season franchise leader with 223 3-pointers in 2017-18. Apart from reigniting questions about their ability to perform in crunch time, they allowed Boston to take a 2-1 series lead on the season. Toronto was on the road as well, traveling to face Cleveland in a showdown of division leaders Tuesday night.
