Cavaliers crush Raptors, take 3-2 series lead
CLEVELAND – Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey on Tuesday’s travel day reiterated the need to eliminate Cleveland’s overwhelming runs.
“The games that we lost there, there were probably three- or four-minute segments, portions of the game that really did us in in both games,” Casey said before Game 5.
Casey’s worst-case scenario unfolded with a blizzard of Cavaliers points. Kevin Love made his first six shots. In a 27-6 first-half run, Cleveland made 12-of-13 shots, built a 25-point lead and took a 31-point lead into halftime.
It was over then. But for bookkeeping purposes, they played the second half, and the Cavaliers defeated the Raptors 116-78 on Wednesday, taking a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Love scored 25 points, and he had 19 in the first half – six more than he scored in the two games in Toronto. LeBron James had 23 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals, and Irving had 23 points.
“(Kevin's) confidence never wavered," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. "He knew exactly what he had to do. We talked about it. I just want Kevin to continue to be aggressive. I don’t care about missed shots. Take your shots when you have them, be aggressive and that’s what he did.”
Late in the third quarter, James, Love and Irving had outscored Toronto 68-57, and they scored 71 of Cleveland’s first 95 points.
“We want to come out with the mindset and the understanding of how important this game is to both teams and have a sense of urgency from the beginning,” James said following Cleveland’s morning shootaround.
That urgency was apparent. Cleveland had a 10-point lead early then hammered the Raptors. It was 20-16 Cleveland with 4:21 left in the first quarter, and then it was 47-26.
Cleveland’s 65-34 halftime lead was the largest margin in conference finals history, and it was the worst defeat in Raptors playoff history.
“The force that they play with here is different. We didn’t’ meet it," Casey said. "They took us out of everything we wanted to do – physically pushed us around.”
James continued his terrific playoffs. He made 10-of-17 shots in Game 5 and is shooting 63.2% and averaging 24.6 points in the series.
He is now 7-6 in Game 5s when the series is 2-2 and averaging 31.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists and shooting 48.6% in those games.
Asked what he would bring to the game, James said, “Just a sense of calmness. That’s all. Just a very calm moment for myself, personally. I relish this opportunity to be a part of the postseason once again, to be 2-2 on my home floor, so, a sense of calmness. I think they’ll follow that.”
It may have been the Cavaliers’ best defensive effort of the postseason. They forced Toronto into missed shots and turnovers, and the Cavs are at their best when they get fastbreaks and early offense in transition.
Cleveland was an offensive machine, shooting 57.1% from the field and 47.6% on three-pointers.
These were not the Raptors from Games 3 and 4 in Toronto. As in most cases, part of that was Cleveland, part of that was Toronto.
The Raptors shot 39.1% from the field and 17.6% on three-pointers, and after scoring a combined 67 points in Game 4, guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan struggled. DeRozan was just 2-of-8 and Lowry 5-of-12, including 1-of-4 on threes.
But now it’s on to Game 6 Friday in Toronto (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), and as we’ve seen in this series a blowout victory for one team at home means zilch on the road. The home team has won every game, and the Raptors were very good at home.
Each team has played with aggressiveness and comfort at home. If the Raptors want to extend the series to a seventh game, they need to replicate what they did at home, led by Lowry and DeRozan.
If the Cavaliers want to win the series and start preparing for the NBA Finals, they need to play at Toronto like they’ve done at home.
"Just a business trip," Lue said of heading to Toronto. "We know what we’re here for. We have a chance to do something special. Our guys understand that."
NBA gallery: Best of the conference finals