[1] Cleveland Cavaliers 116-78 [2] Toronto Raptors [Cleveland lead series 3-2]
Right from the opening tip, the Cleveland Cavaliers seemed the more determined and desperate team, jumping to an 18 point lead after the first 12 minutes. Every time the Cavaliers have a won a game in this series, it’s been on the back of a run made by the team, and Game 5 was no different. For a 10 minute stretch in the first half, Cleveland went on a 27-6 run to set the stage for a huge blowout and non-competitive second half.
LeBron James in just 31 minutes registered 23 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds on 10 of 17 shooting. Kyrie Irving scored 23 points on 9 of 17 shooting but the difference maker in Game 5 from the previous 2 games was Kevin Love. In Games 3 & 4, Love had just 13 points on 5 of 23 shooting where as in Game 5 he recorded 25 points on an efficient 80% shooting. This is just the 7th time that Irving, James and Love have all scored 20+ points, the Cavs are 6-0 in previous such instances.
This Game 5 dismantling by the Cavaliers had made its way to the history books:
The trend of home teams winning at home, continued as Cleveland now improved to 7-0 at home these Playoffs while the Raptors fall to 2-7 on the road. If this trend continues, we could expect a Game 7 back in Cleveland on Sunday but that depends on how All-Stars Kyle Lowry and DeMar Derozan carry the Raptors in Game 6 at home.
DeRozan and Lowry struggle
Usually, the role players and bench excel at home and find it tough to get going on the road in the Playoffs but for the Toronto Raptors, it’s their superstar guards Lowry and DeRozan, whose games go on and off based on where they are playing. Lowry and DeRozan combine for just 27 points on 7 of 20 shooting and committing 7 turnovers. To make matters worse, the Raptors are 1-6 when these two combine for fewer than 30 points so the duo has to show up once again at home in Game 6.
Toronto’s back up center Bismack Biyombo, who was a huge reason for the Games 3 & 4 wins at home, made no impact in Game 5 registering just 7 points and 4 rebounds with no blocked shots. His activity on the defensive end is crucial to the Raptors’ chance this series as the Cavaliers’ offense in the paint determines the results of the games. In losses this series, Cleveland have averaged 28 points in the pain on 55% shooting where as in wins they average 50.7 points on 69.1% shooting.
With the three point shooting records that the Cavaliers broke in the series against the Atlanta Hawks, the team showcased their offense to its full potent. However, in this series and especially this game, the Cavs displayed how great a defensive team they are restricting the Raptors to just 78 points on 39% shooting while shooting just 10 threes themselves.
Game 6 will be played on Friday at Toronto in the Air Canada Center.
Guess the Lakers players!
