But the scrappy point guard was held to just eight points Tuesday night.
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Turned out, the second half was too late. By then, the game was all but over.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have demolished the Toronto Raptors to take a dominant lead in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, although the win was tarnished by an injury to Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova.
The Toronto Raptors looked competitive in Game 2 – the first quarter made it look as if the Cavs Game 1 blowout was an anomaly, that the Cavs were in for a fight. “The first game was ugly, tonight was not pretty”. Still, we are not quitting.
By the end of the third quarter, this game was over and the Cavaliers coasted to a win in the fourth quarter, to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. Rod Black, Jack Armstrong and Leo Rautins discuss.
“It was nothing more than just kind of to decompress, breathe (and) get back out”, he said”.
The Raptors will try to turn things around in Game 3 on Saturday on ESPN/WatchESPN. “They beat us two games, OK, but it’s not over with yet”. The Cavs also became the fourth team in playoff history to win 10 straight games – joining the 1989 Lakers, the 2001 Lakers and the 2012 San Antonio Spurs.
The Raptors were better in Game 2 than they were in Game 1, and it was still a 19-point defeat. This happened with 2:35 remaining in the first half with the outcome of the contest still very much up for grabs.
The series now moves to Toronto, where the Raptors will look to get back on track on their home court.
“To be in this position today where I see my name linked to a lot of the greats that have played this game and paved the way for myself and Kyrie and Kev, it means a lot”. I’ve given him all the adjectives you can give a great player that I’ve ever coached against. I think we’ll make shots tomorrow. “I refuse to believe that”, Casey said.
Whether at home or on the road, handling James and Cavaliers is hard enough.
Irving was once again aggressive and the Raptors had no answer for him when he drove the lane. The duo combined for 7 of the team’s 12 turnovers, and have had a historically bad shooting post-season.
And while the Cavs hit seven 3-pointers for the second straight game (a low number for them), they again erupted near the basket, tallying a whopping 50 points in the paint.
However, they haven’t yet had to contend with a team quite like the Cavaliers. He is still confident the Raptors can play their way back into the series. By many reports his basketball struggles are mental. The loss marked the first time Toronto has dropped back-to-back games in the postseason.
The Cavs averaged a whopping 17 threes a game against Detroit and Atlanta, which “kind of made us nervous”, said Lowry.
The King, coach Tyronn Lue and the entire franchise finished the game with their reputations enhanced and some added achievements to put on their resumes.
The Quicken Loans Arena, painted in gold “All In” T-shirts, included New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., and six-time NBA MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
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DeMar Derozan led the Raptors with 22 points. And the clue is here: even though the Raptors played great ball in the first, they still lost it 30-28.
