Raptors-Cavaliers Preview

By BRETT HUSTON
Posted Mar 12 2012 3:24PM

Less than a week ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers were on a six-game slide and a playoff spot seemed out of the question.

Three impressive wins later, a postseason appearance hardly appears out of reach.

The Cavaliers look to extend their run to four for the first time in two years Tuesday night when they host a Toronto Raptors team that's already beaten them twice.

New Orleans and Washington were among the teams Cleveland (16-23) couldn't beat during a six-game skid, so stops in Denver and Oklahoma City last week only figured to make it worse.

Surprisingly, the Cavaliers won both before returning home to rally past another Western Conference team with a winning record. After trailing Houston by as many as eight late in the third quarter Sunday, Cleveland scored 37 points in the fourth to run away with a 118-107 victory.

"What I like most is just our ability to compete for 48 minutes, no matter what's going on in the game," said guard Kyrie Irving, who had 16 of his 21 points in the final 4:14. "They make their run, but we continue to get stops and continue to execute on the offensive end of the floor."

The Cavaliers, who haven't won four straight since an eight-game run March 8-24, 2010, trailed New York by four games for the East's final playoff spot last week. Now the Knicks, Cleveland and Milwaukee are in a tight three-team race.

"I sit and look at (the standing) all the time," coach Byron Scott said. "I know the teams in front of us and what they're doing, I know the team that's right behind us. So I know we have a golden opportunity."

Irving's play late in games has been the catalyst. His 9.1 points per game in the fourth quarter since Jan. 27 are an NBA-best, and he's averaged 10.2 in the final 12 minutes of Cleveland's five games this month while shooting 75.0 percent (18 of 24).

The frontrunner to be named the league's top rookie hasn't done much to impress against Toronto (13-28), though. Irving has averaged 9.0 points in the Cavaliers' two losses in the series, missing 20 of 25 shots from the field.

The Raptors have had Cleveland's number since LeBron James and Chris Bosh took their talents elsewhere two summers ago. Toronto has won four of the five meetings, three by at least 15 points.

The biggest reason for the Raptors' success was Andrea Bargnani, who averaged 22.3 points on 54.1 percent shooting in the four wins while sitting out the lone loss.

The Cavaliers won't be happy to see Bargnani back on the court, but his return after missing 20 games with a calf injury hasn't equated to wins for the Raptors. Bargnani had eight points in a 105-86 loss at Detroit on Saturday, then scored 11 as Toronto fell 105-99 at home against Milwaukee on Sunday.

"We know how good he is and I need him back, everybody needs him back, and when he gets back to the level that he was at we are going to be a very dangerous team," guard Jerryd Bayless said.

Bayless scored 16 points Sunday while starting for Jose Calderon, who's day-to-day with a sprained ankle.

Regardless of which player starts opposite Irving on Tuesday, the Cavaliers will want to pay close attention. Calderon has averaged 17.5 points and 14.0 assists in Toronto's last two visits to Cleveland, while Bayless has put up 38 points in 48 minutes in two games against the Cavs with the Raptors.

Raptors trip up Cavaliers 96-88

By TOM WITHERS
Posted Mar 14 2012 1:46AM

CLEVELAND (AP) For some strange reason, the Toronto Raptors suddenly own the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Nobody can explain it. DeMar DeRozan, though, has a theory.

"LeBron ain't here," the Raptors guard joked.

Jerryd Bayless scored 20 points, Andrea Bargnani added 19 and Toronto slowed Cleveland's unexpected playoff push with a 96-88 victory Tuesday night, the Raptors' third win in three tries against the Cavaliers this season.

Bayless, starting in place of injured point guard Jose Calderon, added seven assists and helped contain rookie Kyrie Irving in 37 minutes while leading the Raptors to just their 14th win.

Leandro Barbosa added 17 points as Toronto won for only the fifth time in 14 games.

The Cavaliers had their winning streak stopped at three and blew a chance to move into a virtual tie with idle New York and Milwaukee for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Antawn Jamison, who has been mentioned in trade rumors all season, led the Cavs with 20 points. Irving scored 14 and Alonzo Gee 16.

Jamison can't understand why the Raptors have been such an unsolvable riddle this season.

"Man, I don't know," Jamison said. "I'm so frustrated right now. I can't put my finger on it."

The Cavs were still within six points in the final minute when the mobile 7-foot Bargnani, who has been a matchup nightmare for Cleveland in the past, rebounded his own miss and dunked to close the scoring.

Toronto has had a disappointing season - except against Cleveland.

"I have no answers," Cavs coach Byron Scott said. "Certain teams just have your number. I guess they have our number."

Bayless' 3-pointer and two free throws gave the Raptors an 88-75 lead with 6:02 remaining. The Cavs kept plugging away and got within six on Gee's 3-pointer. But on Toronto's next possession, Bayless was unable to get Irving to leave his feet with several ball fakes before burying a stone-cold jumper to make it 90-82.

The Cavs were still within 94-88 when Bargnani missed his shot, grabbed his rebound with one hand in the lane and slammed it home to end Cleveland's night.

For good measure, Toronto's Amir Johnson rejected Irving's 3-point try at the horn.

Irving was unable to conjure up some of the fourth-quarter magic he has shown recently, and with Bayless guarding him most of the game, the talented 19-year-old finished just 5 of 17 from the floor. In three games against Toronto, the likely NBA Rookie of the Year went 10 of 42. Irving did add seven rebounds and seven assists.

"Layups that I normally make weren't falling," said Irving, who refused to credit Toronto's defense for his misses. "It wasn't anything they were doing defensively. It was just me not hitting shots."

Raptors coach Dwayne Casey came in fearing Irving would be able to solve his team's defense.

"He was my biggest nightmare," Casey said. "I woke up last night thinking about him going to the basket. He's going to be one of the bright young players in the league. Jerryd did a good job containing him."

After containing him, Bayless did allow Irving some high praise.

"I can't say enough about him," Bayless said. "I'm sure sooner or later he'll have a good game against us. We're trying to stay in front of him and make him take tough shots."

Cleveland's recent surge, coupled with a slide by the Knicks, has pushed the Cavaliers into the playoff race, a place they never dreamed of being just a few weeks ago.

It's put the Cavs in a tricky spot. With the NBA's trading deadline at 3 p.m. on Thursday, they have to decide whether to keep this team together or plan for the future.

Jamison and backup point guard Ramon Sessions have been involved in trade rumors for months.

Scott would prefer to keep this squad intact, but understands the league's business side.

"I like this team," Scott said. "I like the guys we have. The guys who have been rumored to be going from here to there, I love the way these guys have been able to play with this team and what they give to this organization, but I've been in this league long enough to understand things might happen.

"For me, I'm good either way it goes because I know anything we're going to do will be for the betterment of this organization."

For now, what's best is to avoid the Raptors.

Like everyone else, Casey is mystified by his team's stranglehold over the Cavs.

"I don't know," Casey said. "They just went out West and beat Denver and Oklahoma City. I've been in the West long enough to know you don't walk into those places back to back and win games. This is a very solid team."

Notes: Cleveland will visit Toronto on April 6. ... Jamison didn't get a rebound in 36 minutes, but scored more than 20 for the eighth straight game. ... Bargnani played his third consecutive game after missing 26 of 28 with a strained calf. ... Scott filled out his NCAA brackets with Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Missouri and Kansas making the Final Four. He's picking Kentucky to win it. ... Calderon sat on the end of Toronto's bench in a walking boot. There's no timetable on his return. A team spokesman said the seventh-year pro is "improving and will continue receiving treatment." Calderon was injured Saturday in Toronto's 105-86 loss at Detroit.

Notebook: Raptors 96, Cavaliers 88

Posted Wednesday March 14, 2012 12:32AM

By Brian Dulik, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Point guard Jerryd Bayless collected 20 points and seven assists in leading the Toronto Raptors to a 96-88 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Power forward Andrea Bargnani added 19 points and eight rebounds, while shooting guard Leandro Barbosa chipped in 17 points as Toronto scored its third win over Cleveland this season. The Cavaliers were paced by power forward Antawn Jamison, who scored 20 points. Rookie point guard Kyrie Irving had 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Cleveland, but was 5-for-17 from the field. The Cavaliers dropped one game behind Milwaukee and New York in the race for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

QUOTABLE: "I'm so frustrated right now I can't stand it. Toronto is a bad matchup for us, just like we were for the Knicks last year. We definitely knew how important this game was because that team had already beaten us twice."
-- Jamison

THE STAT: In three games against the Raptors, Irving is shooting 23.8 percent on 10-for-42 shooting. The top overall pick in the NBA Draft also has been limited to 10.7 points per game and is 2-for-10 on 3-pointers against Toronto. "It wasn't anything they were doing defensively," Irving said. "It was just me not hitting shots tonight." On the season, Irving is averaging 18.3 points while shooting 46.9 percent from the floor and 40.0 from beyond the arc. "Kyrie is a good player, so you've just got to stay in front of him and make him take tough shots," Bayless explained. "I just tried to do the best I could to get us a win."

TURNING POINT: The Raptors outscored the Cavaliers 33-24 during the second period and never looked back. Barbosa rung up 12 points during the frame, while Bargnani had eight -- topped by a trey that put Toronto ahead for good at 44-42. "Leandro hit some big shots in the second quarter and did a good job for us," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "I also liked what I saw from Andrea. You can tell that he's feeling better and getting stronger (since returning two games ago from a left calf strain)." Toronto took a 54-46 lead into intermission and did not allow Cleveland to get closer than six points in the second half.

QUOTABLE II: "I don't know (why we've been so successful against Irving). I can't explain it. Kyrie was my biggest nightmare coming in. I woke up last night thinking about him going to the basket."
-- Casey

HOT: The Raptors are 3-0 against the Cavaliers this season, but 11-28 against the rest of the NBA. When asked the reason for Toronto's mastery, shooting guard DeMar DeRozan said, "LeBron (James) ain't here, I guess. They used to beat up on everybody when he was." ... Raptors center Amir Johnson had 10 points, a game-high nine rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes. The seventh-year pro is averaging 10.6 points and 8.2 boards in his last five contests, while shooting 22-for-31 (71.0 percent). ... Cleveland point guard Ramon Sessions had 16 points, four rebounds and six assists off the bench. ... Irving has been the Cavaliers' leading rebounder in two straight games, averaging 6.5 boards. .. Cleveland small forward Alonzo Gee made four steals, which was one more than Toronto's entire team.

NOT: The Cavaliers had their three-game winning streak snapped -- and still have not won four straight contests since March 17-24, 2010. ... Jamison had zero rebounds, zero blocked shots and zero steals in 36 minutes for the Cavaliers. "That's very unusual, but I also think a lot of it is attributed to the fact he was guarding Bargnani, who was 20-25 feet from the basket most of the time," Cleveland coach Byron Scott said. "That was one of the first things I looked at and was kind of like, wow." ... Cavaliers shooting guard Daniel Gibson missed all five of his field goal attempts, dropping his season percentage to 35 percent. ... Irving is 14-for-44 from the floor in his last three games, but insisted, "The whole rookie wall thing is a myth and I haven't hit it yet."

QUOTABLE III: "I have no answers. Like I said before, certain teams just have your number. I guess they have our number."
-- Scott

GOOD MOVE: Casey and Bayless were determined to get Bargnani back into the flow, so they made sure he got the ball early and often. The 7-foot Italian responded by going 8-for-15 from the field and was the best big man on the court from start to finish. "I was trying to get Andrea going, that was my main focus tonight," Bayless said. "We need Andrea to keep on looking to score because that's what he does and he's great at it. He played well tonight." ... Center Aaron Gray, who only logged three minutes in Toronto's previous game, was given 19 by Casey. He did a fine job backing up Johnson with seven rebounds and three assists.

BAD MOVE: Cavaliers centers Ryan Hollins and Samardo Samuels continued their maddening habit of not going straight up after taking a pass under the hoop. By collecting themselves and giving the Raptors' defenders time to get in position, they each had two shots rejected and combined to miss six of their eight field goal attempts. With starting center Anderson Varejao (right wrist fracture) potentially returning in a week, Hollins and Samuels could be joining fellow pivot Semih Erden at the end of Cleveland's bench. ... The Cavaliers played with no urgency in falling to 1-5 in their last six home games.

NOTABLE: Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert and minority owner Nate Forbes both traveled to Quicken Loans Arena from their homes in Southeast Michigan, likely to talk strategy with general manager Chris Grant as the NBA trade deadline approaches Thursday at 3 p.m. ... WWE performer and Cleveland native Dolph Ziggler (Nick Nemeth) was seated courtside. ... Cavaliers power forward Tristan Thompson, who grew up in Toronto, celebrated his 21st birthday.

UP NEXT: For the Raptors, Wednesday @ New Jersey, Friday @ Memphis, Saturday @ Charlotte. For the Cavaliers, Wednesday @ Milwaukee, Sunday vs. Atlanta, Monday @ New Jersey.

• Raptors: Calderon, Carter
• Cavaliers: Eyenga, Harangody

• Raptors: Kleiza
• Cavaliers: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
• Officials: #36 David Jones, #38 Michael Smith, #79 Kevin Scott
• Attendance: 14203
• Duration: 2:16