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Wrap-Up -- The Cavaliers came into Toronto having dropped three straight for the first time all season. And by the end of the first quarter, J.R. Smith was knocked out of the game with a left knee injury – sidelining him for the rest of the night and forcing him to head back to Cleveland for further evaluation.
But that only seemed to steel Cleveland’s resolve and – led by the Big Three and some key contributions off the bench – the Cavaliers proceeded to snap their losing skein while winning their third straight over the Raptors this season, taking the 116-112 decision on Monday night at the Air Canada Centre.
LeBron James tweaked his knee early in the affair, but returned to action after a Cavaliers timeout. But later in the period, Smith extended his leg awkwardly and went down in front of the Raptors bench.
With his teammates gathered around him, Swish was able to get up and get to the locker room – under his own power but definitely in some pain. X-rays at the arena proved to be negative, but the 12-year vet will still travel back to Cleveland on Tuesday to be re-examined at Cleveland Clinic.
The remaining Cavaliers looked like the squad that charged out to a 13-2 record before hitting their recent skein – and once again they showed the Eastern Conference Finals foe who was still the boss.
LeBron James, who’s scored more points against Toronto than any NBA player since the team’s inception, tallied a season-high 34 points to lead all scorers on Monday – going 12-of-26 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the stripe, adding eight boards, seven assists and a pair of steals.
Kevin Love scored 13 of his 28 points in the opening period, finishing 6-of-11 from three-point range and 8-for-18 overall, doubling-up for the first time in almost a week with a game-high tying 14 boards.
Kyrie Irving continued his excellent start to the season – adding 24 points, his tenth consecutive game of at least 20, going 9-of-18 from the floor and adding seven assists, including a jaw-dropping behind-the-back dime to LeBron James on the fastbreak, hitting the four-time MVP perfectly in stride between two Toronto defenders.
Tristan Thompson added 14 boards in the victory and Channing Frye had another strong game against the team he tormented in last year’s Playoffs – finishing with 10 points, five boards and a pair of assists off the bench.
One of Monday night’s standouts was one of the Cavs’ quietest players – defensive specialist DeAndre Liggins, who saw 21 minutes of action in J.R.’s absence and came up big: providing a defensive lift against DeMar DeRozan, snagging five boards and canning a key three-pointer to stave off a Raptors’ run late in the third.
Behind another strong performance by the Big Three, the Wine & Gold took care of business north of the border.
The Raptors were led by their dynamic backcourt duo of DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, who combined for 55 points. But they were the only Raptors starters in double-figures – the other three combining for 18 total points.
The Wine and Gold, who surrendered 68 and 78 points in the paint in separate games last week, were stingier down low on Monday night. Cleveland held the Raptors to 43 percent shooting, outrebounded 48-33 and allowed (and scored) 32 points in the paint.
The Cavaliers also made 27 trips to the line – connecting on 22 free throws – despite not reaching the stripe until the midway point of the second quarter.
Turning Point -- As well as any team in the Eastern Conference over the past couple years, the Cavaliers have used the three-pointer as a deadly weapon. That was the case again early in the fourth quarter of Monday’s win.
After cutting an 11-point Cleveland lead to just five – 94-89 – on Terrance Ross’ triple with 9:31 remaining in regulation, the Cavaliers struck back with back-to-back treys by Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson. LeBron scored on an old-fashioned three-point play to improve Cleveland’s lead to a dozen – 104-92 – and his pull-up bomb one minute later put the Cavaliers up 15.
Toronto tried to rally late, but the Wine and Gold already had enough breathing room to hold on for the victory.
By the Numbers – .468, .333 … Cavaliers shooting percentage on corner three-pointers and their opponent’s percentage shooting corner three-pointers – both currently tops in the NBA.
Quotable – Coach Tyronn Lue, praising reserve guard DeAndre Liggins following Monday’s win …
”I like the energy he brings defensively, I thought we needed that. I thought we needed the toughness that he brings and him just flying around. It may not be the right coverage all the time but just his activity, the way he plays and how he plays hard, it’s just big for us.”
Up Next -- After pulling past the Raptors on Monday night in Toronto, the Cavaliers round out their three-game roadie with a date against Derrick Rose and the red-hot Knicks on Wednesday night at the Garden. The Cavaliers return home for their next three – beginning with a back-to-back against Miami and Charlotte next weekend at The Q followed by a mid-week home-and-home back-to-back against Memphis.