'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Well, that was fun, wasn't it?
The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Toronto Raptors for the 9th time in a row in the playoffs to take a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, to all but book their place in the Conference Finals. Cleveland led for almost the entirety of the game, only for the Raptors to make a late push to tie it up late. Then, up stepped LeBron James with another dagger to the heart of the Raptors as the Cavs come away with a 105-103 win.
Here are the talking points:
#5 First half turnovers cost the Raptors
Throughout the regular season, the Raptors were pretty good at avoiding turnovers, with the 6th fewest in the league. That hasn't been the case in the playoffs and it was the same story in the first half. There have been questions about the Raptors in the playoffs and turnovers is undoubtedly an area they struggle with. Averaging just 13 a game in the Regular season, they've now had 17 or more turnovers in 4 of the 9 games thus far.
They turned it over 11 times in the 1st half, allowing the Cavs and James, in particular, to get out in transition and wreck havoc. They were down 15 at the half as a result. Toronto did a good job protecting the ball in the 2nd half and promptly came back into the game. One can only wonder if the outcome would have been different if they didn't have such a poor start.
#4 Kevin Love seems to have found his groove
I don't know what it is about these Raptors that every Cavalier seems to step up against them and Kevin Love has been no different. After a disastrous start in these playoffs, in which he averaged just 10.8 points through the first 8 games, Love has come back to life in the last two. He's played a key role whenever James has had to go to the bench, taking on the scoring load and keeping the Cavs afloat. He had 31 Points and 11 Rebounds in Game 2 and followed that up with 21 Points and 16 Rebounds in Game 3.
Kyle Korver and Jeff Green continued their strong showings too, scoring 18 and 11 apiece. The rest of the supporting cast around James seem to have finally got it going after some putrid performances against the Indiana Pacers and that is not good news for Boston whom they will in all likelihood meet in the Conference Finals.
#3 Raptors show great resiliency
I thought it was game over at halftime really.
Down 15 on the road at Cleveland has been the story for Toronto over the years and they usually end up getting blown out by over 20 points, which has been their average margin of defeat in Cleveland in the playoffs, but not this time. They stormed back into this one, led by the much-maligned Kyle Lowry. He scored 15 in the 4th quarter to rally the Raptors all the way back and they managed to tie it up with 8.8 seconds remaining.
Lowry had struggled in the 2nd half of the games in this series, so it was good to see him finally step up when it mattered most. He also had help in the form of the rookie OG Anunoby. Anunoby had 11 in the 4th quarter and it was his 3 pointer that tied it up but ultimately it wasn't enough against the King. Still, a great show of resiliency by these Raptors, something they hadn't shown against Cleveland before.
#2 DeMar DeRozan flops
Kyle Lowry showed up for Game 3, I wish I could say the same about DeRozan. What on Earth was that performance?
DeMar DeRozan was absolutely awful in this one, finishing with just 8 points on 3/12 shooting. For whatever reason, DeMar keeps coming up short whenever he goes up against Cleveland. It got bad enough to the point that Dwane Casey benched him for the entire 4th quarter. It did seem to work as everyone else chipped in as the Raptors roared back into this one.
It was so disappointing that on a night when the Raptors showed so much heart, their best player put in one of the worst performances of his career. There is no doubt in my mind that if he had shown up for this game, we'd be looking at a completely different outcome and we'd potentially have a proper series to look forward to.
Instead, the Raptors are down 3-0 and are in all likelihood about to get swept.
#1 LeBron James delivers, again
All hail the King!
Maligned for not being clutch all these years, LeBron James continues to debunk that theory and he delivered late in the game yet again. Kyle Lowry was superb in the 4th with 15 points, but LeBron went one better with 16. The Raptors, as usual, had no answer him for him, as James scored in every way possible. He drove to the basket at will, hit the 3 and continued to flaunt that fadeaway mid-range shot.
It's special to have one buzzer-beating game winner in the playoffs, so what about two of them eh? After that ridiculous 3-pointer at the buzzer to win Game 5 against the Pacers, James hit another shot that will be remembered for a long time. With the score tied at 103 with 8 seconds remaining, he dribbled the length of the court and hit a running one-handed bank shot as time expired to finish off the Raptors once again.
It's been an absolute delight to watch James in these playoffs, as he continues to deliver monstrous performances and the Cavs are now the favorites to get back to the Finals once again.
Guess the Lakers players!
