(On the game tonight): “It was a tough ball game. I thought our guys did a nice job of coming out in the second half, fighting to get back in the ball game and taking the lead. I thought our pace was good. I thought our defense was active. But throughout the entire course of the game, we didn’t do a great job on the glass and with 50-50 balls. I thought that they beat us on the glass quite a bit and even to some 50-50 balls. We picked up some fouls that might have not even been registered if it wasn’t for them coming up with second possessions or offensive rebounds. They had 10 (offensive rebounds). With some of the fouls we had, it might have been more than that. To give up 21 second chance points in a tough one-possession ball game like that is very tough to see. We gotta do a better job, especially against this team on the glass. We gotta do a better job of putting bodies on bodies and not allowing them to get second or third opportunities in a one-possession game.”
(On individual efforts): “I thought a lot of our guys at different points of the game played well. I thought Delly (Matthew Dellavedova) gave us a lift off the bench. I thought Tyler Zeller, his second stint was pretty good. I thought he played very, very well and our guys that penetrated in the paint found him for nice, easy baskets. I thought our pace was pretty good which allowed Spencer (Hawes) to have some great looks from the floor. It was a tough game to lose because with us up two with a little over three minutes left in the game and then with us having a few defensive lapses down the stretch hurt us. You gotta give Toronto credit for coming in here and playing the way they did for 48 minutes.”
(On playing Spencer Hawes and Tyler Zeller together down the stretch): “I thought those guys played fairly well together. I thought offensively our spacing was great. Tyler did a nice job working the dunk and the floor was spaced pretty good for us to get into the paint. We found nice, little drop off passes once we were down there. It looked good in stretches but one thing that concerned me no matter what combination of bigs we have in there is it seems like Toronto did a nice job on the offensive glass. That’s something against bigger teams we gotta make sure we do a better job of.”
(On how he felt playing the entire second half): “I felt good. I told coach (Brown) I’m willing to do whatever it takes for us to get the win. Whether it was me playing the whole game or playing the whole second half, I’m willing to do anything for him and my teammates. I’m just going to go out there and compete and live with the results.”
(On what transpired down the stretch of the game): “Just a few defensive mistakes; I made a few and the team as a whole (did). Down the stretch, there were just a few possessions where there were a few tip outs or a few offensive rebounds. We were getting stops and a few turnovers here and there, but that happens within a game. Down the stretch, we just have to execute a lot better and it starts with me just getting off the ball more and being aggressive or making an efficient or quick play down the stretch.”
(On playing the big lineup with Tyler Zeller and Spencer Hawes): “It was different, just figuring out where they’re going to be. Tyler (Zeller) was definitely doing a great job of being the dunker and Spencer (Hawes) was spacing the floor out really well. (Spencer) made some plays off the dribble, which we needed him to do consistently. They had a great feel. (We had) a turnover at the end of the game, but we can live with that, especially when trying to make a play at the end of the game. I have confidence in Spencer; I’d trust him to make that play 1,000 more times.”
(On what the Raptors did well down the stretch): “They just did a great job of executing down the stretch. They were using DeMar (DeRozan) as a decoy down the stretch and they caught me one time sleeping on that backside (basket). Terrence (Ross) hit a big three and they went up one point. At that point, I think we scored and then they just closed us out from that point. That’s what good teams do (we) just have to learn from this and move on.”
(On the game): “We’re nowhere near where we can walk in a game and expect to win. Every game, for us, is a grind. (The Cavaliers) had just won six in a row and have the All-Star MVP, so for us, we’ve got to come in with the attitude of being a desperate team and a hungry team every time. We haven’t done anything. We’re on thin ice if we don’t play the game the right way. We’re going to see everybody’s best haymaker. If we don’t come in like we’re the underdog and be hungry as we approach the game, it’s going to be like that.”
(On the Cavaliers): “Once we got that lead, we got back on our heels and relaxed a little bit. (The Cavaliers) turned up the aggression and they played desperate. That’s a credit to them. They threw their haymakers at us defensively. We had trouble getting open.”
(On Kyle Lowry): “That’s one example of a guy not letting his offense dictate his defense. Believe me, he was 0-9 from three and he had some wide open looks. That’s not normally Kyle. He came in and gave us some charges and was aggressive. Every time we attacked the rim, we got something good. That’s what he did. He got to the basket and created for other people when his shot wasn’t falling and that was smart on his part.”
(On Matthew Dellavedova): “I’ll tell you what – he was all over us. He was a one-man press.”
(On his 4th Quarter steal): “I was Richard Sherman tonight, just trying to read the (offense). I kind of anticipated that. They ran that play earlier. I knew they were going to look for it, so I was looking for it.”
(On his performance): “It was a tough night for (Kyle Lowry) and me. We missed a lot of easy shots. You have to buckle down. You can’t let the last shot dictate the next shot. That’s how we’ve been playing. We needed big shots and we couldn’t hesitate.”
(On his performance): “That’s how you have to play. You’re always going to have some kind of off-game. You can’t let that stop you from helping your team win a game.”
CAVALIERS NOTES:
- Cleveland has held their opponent to under 100 points in a season-high eight straight games. The last time they accomplished that feat was Jan. 21-Feb. 4, 2010 (also eight games).
- The Cavs shot 20-24 (.833) from the free-throw line tonight. They have shot at least .800 from the line in four out of the past five games. Over that stretch, the Cavs are shooting a combined .805 (120-149) from the free throw line.
- Cleveland held a 43-39 rebounding edge over Toronto and a 40-32 advantage in points in the paint. The Cavs have won the rebounding battle in nine of their last 10 games, outrebounding opponents by an average of 6.6 (49.3-42.7).
- Kyrie Irving tallied a team-high 25 points, four rebounds, a game-high tying nine assists and two steals in 45 minutes. Irving has topped 20 points in 15 of the last 20 home games (since Dec. 4) with averages of 23.6 points, including .423 (44-104) from the three-point line, .920 (81-88) from the free throw line, 3.2 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 36.7 minutes per game.
- Spencer Hawes recorded 15 points on 6-12 (.500) shooting, including 3-4 (.750) from the three-point line, seven rebounds, and one block in 32 minutes. In three games with the Cavs, Hawes is averaging 12.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 30.0 minutes per game.
- Tristan Thompson posted a near double-double with 13 points and a game-high tying nine rebounds in 31 minutes. Over the past seven games, Thompson is averaging 15.1 points on .548 (40-73) shooting and 11.7 rebounds in 32.3 minutes per game.
- Luol Deng finished with a near double-double with eight points, a game-high tying nine rebounds, five assists and two steals in 40 minutes. In 22 games with the Cavs, Deng is averaging 14.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 33.7 minutes per game.
- Matthew Dellavedova notched 10 points on 4-6 (.667) shooting, three rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes off the bench. Dellavedova has scored double figures in points seven times this season.
- Jarrett Jack scored 12 points on 5-10 (.500) shooting to go along with three rebounds, four assists and two steals in 26 minutes. Jack has recorded at least 12 points and four assists in 12 games this season