Game 3 turned out to be a lot more competitive…at least for three quarters. The Toronto Raptors put up a fight, actually leading at halftime, but ultimately crumbled in the final quarter and fall to the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-94. The Cavs are now up 3-0 in the series and are on the brink of reaching the Eastern Conference for the third consecutive season. The Raptors played without star point guard Kyle Lowry, who injured his ankle at the end of Game 2.
Too easy for LeBron James pic.twitter.com/0MDDsuqFJc
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 5, 2017
The Cavaliers came out of the gate slowly. The three-point barrage from Game 2 did not immediately transition to Canada, though Toronto was even worse. LeBron James was once again otherworldly. scoring 35 points on just 16 shot attempts. He added eight rebounds, seven assists, and some impressive ambidextrous plays. Kyrie Irving, however, had another really poor game. He appeared frustrated with his shot at times, forcing isolation offense. He shot 7-21 and only administered four assists, failing to reach double digits for the first time in the series. Kevin Love asserted himself early on offense and provided 16 points and 12 rebounds. Kyle Korver, who was mostly dormant for the series, hit four three-pointers off the bench. The Cavaliers looked sluggish in the beginning, but have enough firepower to get back into any game and quickly overwhelm with offense.
LeBron James just trying out his left hand shots against Toronto at this point. #Cavs pic.twitter.com/CluXhs4fNR
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 6, 2017
This was easily the best game the Raptors put together in the series, though that may not be saying much. Kyle Lowry did not play after tweaking his ankle at the end of Game 2. Corey Joseph started in his place and played some valiant defense on Irving, but was not a factor on offense. DeMar DeRozan poured in 37 points, including a perfect 13-13 from the line. The Raptors bench only provided nine points. The team as a whole shot 11% from behind the arc, failing to hit their first three-pointer until the third quarter. Comparatively, the Cavaliers shot 56.5% from three. The stats and final score do not indicate how close the game was until the final quarter.
DeMar DeRozan goes through the contact and gets one to fall#WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/Jyopt4OTTg
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 6, 2017
The Raptors simply cannot keep up with the Cavaliers high-octane offense. Even if Toronto manages to get stops on defense, like tonight, the offense has to build up a lead or run the risk of getting overwhelmed when it is too late. King James and company will look to punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday afternoon (3:30pm EST)
