5-21-16 at Raptors

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Wrap-Up -- For all the talk of the Cavaliers going – in the immortal words of Moses Malone – “fo’, fo’, fo’” and sweeping their way through the East, it was unlikely that the Wine and Gold would roll through the Conference unscathed.

That reality hit the Cavaliers on Saturday night as the Raptors finally handed them their first loss of the postseason – falling, 99-84, in Game 3 at the Air Canada Centre.

After running roughshod through their first two series and the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers finally cooled off north of the border – shooting 35 percent from the floor, 34 percent from beyond the arc.

The Raptors were the aggressors from the opening tip on Saturday night and they turned the tables on Cleveland in almost every way. The Cavaliers took a one-point lead – their largest of the night – with 7:12 remaining in the first quarter, but that was as good as it would get for the Wine and Gold – who trailed by as many as 18 in the loss.

Unlike the first 10 games of the 2016  Playoffs, the Big Three were not hitting on all cylinders. Only LeBron James – who led the Cavs with 24 points – was on his game on Saturday night. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love shot a combined 4-for-28 from the floor, with Love spending the final period watching from sidelines.

For Toronto, DeMar DeRozan – who was already having a solid series – led everyone with 32 points, netting 21 of those before intermission.

Bismack Biyombo – taking over for the injured Jonas Valanciunas – came into Game 3 with a combined nine rebounds in the series, but set a Raptors record, snagging 26 of them on Saturday. The fifth-year center – who grabbed eight of his 26 boards off the offensive glass – also led both squads with four blocked shots, wagging his finger, Dikembe Mutombo-style, after each rejection.

Coming off his first triple-double of the 2016 postseason, LeBron went 9-for-17 from the floor and 5-of-7 from the stripe, adding eight boards, a team-high five assists and a pair of steals.

J.R. Smith followed up with 22 points – going 6-for-15 from long-distance, 7-for-16 overall.  His back-to-back threes in the second-half got Cleveland back into the game before the Raptors went on a mini-run to ice the affair.

”Whenever we're on the court, no matter what the deficit is, I think we have a chance to come back,” said Smith. “We have the pieces and the weapons to do that. Just a matter of staying focused mentally and just locking in.”

On the night, the Cavaliers – who set an NBA mark from long-range shooting in the previous series against Atlanta – were 14-for-41 from deep in Game 3. Despite the 2-1 series edge, the Raptors have managed to cool Cleveland off from long-distance – holding the squad that came into the ECF having hit 134 triples through the first two rounds to 34 percent shooting from three-point range through the first three games.

Kyrie, the Cavs postseason scoring leader, finished with 13 points, but went just 3-of-19 from the field, including 1-of-7 from deep.

Love also struggled mightily, canning a single shot – a three-pointer to start the second half – in Saturday’s defeat, finishing 1-of-9 on the night, adding four boards, two assists and a blocked shot.

”I think it's good for them,” admitted LeBron afterward. “First little adversity, first individually in a long time, and I think it's good for them. I think they'll be much better obviously on Monday, but it's good for them.”

The Raptors flipped the script on Cleveland in Saturday’s loss at the Air Canada Centre – where the Wine and Gold have yet to win this year. After dominating on the boards and in the paint, the Cavs were outrebounded, 54-40, and outscored, 36-20.

Turning Point -- it’s no secret to anyone who’s watched the 2016 Playoffs that he Raptors have been susceptible to losing a late lead. And the Cavaliers tried to capitalize on that trend in the second stanza on Saturday.

After trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half and by 10 at intermission, the Cavs cut the Raptors lead to just five, 70-65, on J.R. Smith’s back-to-back bombs. But Patrick Patterson’s short jumper, followed by free throws from Kyle Lowry and Biyombo, helped Toronto push its lead back to double-digits.

In the fourth, Cleveland cut the Raptors’ 15-point lead to eight with just over five minutes to play. But Toronto answered with a quick 6-0 run that put the Wine and Gold squarely behind the eight-ball with just over three minutes remaining.

By the Numbers – .646, .600, .800 … Channing Frye’s field goal, three-point and free throw percentages through the last two rounds of the 2016 Playoffs.

Quotable – Coach Tyronn Lue, on whether Bismack Biyombo’s finger wave bothered him …

”Well, you can always wave your finger when you're winning, but it's hard to wave your finger when you’re losing. They were winning. They were kicking our butts, so he should have the right to wave his finger until we do something about it.”

Up Next – After dropping their first game of the 2016 Playoffs, the Cavaliers and Raptors tangle in Toronto again on Monday night – with Toronto looking to even the best-of-seven set and the Wine and Gold looking to put themselves in a position to clinch the Conference on Wednesday night back at The Q. If they’re unable to, the series will return to Canada for Game 6 on Friday. Should the series go seven, the Cavaliers – who finished one game better than Toronto for the top spot – would host the deciding affair next Sunday night in Cleveland.

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Cavs Cool Off in Canada, Finally Fall in Postseason

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Game 3 Postgame: Tristan Thompson - May 21, 2016

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Game 3 Postgame: Kevin Love - May 21, 2016

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Game 3 Postgame: Richard Jefferson - May 21, 2016

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Game 3 Postgame: Kyrie Irving - May 21, 2016

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Game 3 Postgame: Coach Lue - May 21, 2016

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Game 3 Postgame: LeBron James and J.R. Smith - May 21, 2016

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Listen to Radio Play-by-Play announcers Rafa "El Alcalde" and John Michael's Calls of the Game during the Cavs matchup against the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre on May 21, 2016.

Channing Frye knocks down the triple, cutting into the Raptors lead, after LeBron James extended the possession by tracking down the loose ball.

Escucha a la voz en espaÃ±ol de los Cavaliers Rafa "El Alcalde" con la narraciÃ³n de la jugada del partido entre Los Cavaliers de Cleveland y Los Raptors de Toronto en El Air Canada Center de Toronto, Canada el 21 de Mayo del 2016. Los Cavs perdieron por primera vez en la post temporada al caer en Toronto 99 - 84. JR Smith tuvo su mejor partido de la serie con 22 puntos en 6 de 15 desde larga distancia. Su sexto triple le daba esperanzas a Los Cavs al cortar la ventaja de Los Raptors a 5 puntos en el tercer cuarto.

Q: What did the Raptors do to take the paint away from you guys in this game?

A: "They did a great job of going under screens and pick-and-rolls. They did a great job when we penetrated the basketball of collapsing and getting back out to shooters. We were unable to knock down shots tonight, but I thought we got shots we wanted. We were open, and we'll be ready to make them next game."

Q: LeBron, without having seen film, what were some of the reasons that you were not on your game tonight as a team?

A: "I think early on at the start of the game we weren't as physical as we should have been, especially coming into a building that we knew we had to be a little bit more physical. Understanding they were going to play with a lot of speed, a lot of force, so we didn't start the game as physical as we should have at the point of attack."

Q: J.R., you guys were trailing by as many as 18 I think in the second quarter, but did you feel like this was a game that you could come back in, and at what point did you really feel like it actually got away?

A: "I really honestly didn't feel like it got away until we came out in the fourth. Whenever we're on the court, no matter what the deficit is, I think we have a chance to come back. We have the pieces and the weapons to do that. Just a matter of staying focused mentally and just locking in. Like Bron said, we got a little lax in the first quarter to start the game, and they got too many easy buckets. We've just got to make them work harder on Monday."

Q: Was their defense doing something to you differently?

A: "I think just being aggressive but I need to match that and be just as aggressive and tonight I wasn’t, I felt like I was a little bit passive.  I have to come out Monday night and just have that type of mentality and do better on that end.  I feel like from a mentality standpoint it’s an easy fix."

Q: Any doubt you’ll be able to respond?

A: "No. Tough shooting night. These are the games that really build the character of our team. We’re looking forward to Game 4, preparing for it over the next two days."

Cavaliers Forward/Center Tristan Thompson

A: "They came out and it wasn’t the same team that was in Cleveland. They came out and played hard. We knew that, and we expected that especially coming home, with the crowd so energetic. We just didn’t match their energy."

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Sounds of Game 3: Cavaliers at Raptors - May 21, 2016

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5‑21‑16 at Raptors