The Toronto Raptors got another huge win on Monday, tying up their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Cleveland Cavaliers by winning their second straight game. The Drakes received huge games from their all-star backcourt to edge out the win against the Cavs in Toronto.
The hot-shooting Raptors reared their heads once again in game three. Toronto received great games from both of their all-star backcourt members for perhaps the first time during this entire postseason run and it showed. With efficiency from Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan pacing the way, the Raptors exploded offensively for 57 points in the first half.
But perhaps more impressive than the offensive display from the Raptors was a load of defensive energy. Continuing to play with the adjustment of sending help from the baseline on LeBron post-ups, the Raptors needed to play with energy in order to rotate out on shooters and they did just that. Although some of the Cavaliers’ woes were based on missing open shots, Toronto did a great job of contesting most looks and crowding the paint to make nearly every bucket difficult.
The second half, however, saw the Cavaliers regain their shooting touch, hitting six three-pointers in the third quarter alone. The hot shooting allowed Cleveland to get back into the game, but the Raptors withstood several big runs to take a nine point lead into the fourth quarter.
The three-point shooting continued in the fourth quarter with Channing Frye being inserted into the lineup and immediately spitting fire from downtown, helping trim the Toronto lead to one in just two minutes of game time. The Cavs then took their first lead of the game with a LeBron James layup at the 8 minute mark of the fourth.
Cleveland effectively ran the same play over and over again with Matthew Dellavedova and LeBron James running pick and rolls and Frye sitting on the weakside ready to shoot. The Cavs played the entire fourth quarter without Kevin Love who appeared to leave the game with a leg injury after the third quarter.
But despite the Cavs’ shooting propensity, the Raptors were able to match them blow for blow with Lowry and DeRozan especially taking turns to hit big shot after big shot.
In the end, the Raptors were able to pull it out with huge defensive plays from Kyle Lowry, huge offensive plays from DeMar DeRozan, and huge rebounding and toughness from Bismack Biyombo, who once again started and played the majority of center minutes, despite Jonas Valanciunas being active for the game.
Lowry finished with 35 points (14-20, 4-7 from three), five assists, five rebounds, and three steals. DeRozan contributed 32 points (14-23), three rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Finally, Biyombo added 14 rebounds, three blocks, and countless more huge defensive plays.
The Cavs were unable to capitalize on LeBron playing 46 minutes of energetic play on both ends of the floor and eventually fell 105-99.
Game five will be played in Cleveland on Wednesday at 8:30 PM EST on ESPN.
