Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com
IT WAS OVER WHEN
J.R. Smith connected on a 3-pointer with 4:09 remaining to put the Cavaliers ahead by 19. During the next timeout, both teams swapped out their starters to finish the game, with Cleveland picking up a 108-89 victory and a 2-0 series lead.
STARTER SWITCH-UP
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey inserted Luis Scola into the starting lineup while moving Patrick Patterson to the bench. The move was an attempt to get back to the reserve lineup that was so successful during the regular season, that has been affected since Bismack Biyombo moved into the starting lineup after Jonas Valanciunas’ injury.
SOLID START
Toronto got off to a good start in Game 2, shooting 50 percent in the opening quarter thanks to a 10-point effort from DeMar DeRozan. Slowing Cleveland didn’t get any easier, though, with the Cavs shooting 61 percent in the quarter to take a two-point lead after one. Despite the deficit, this was a much different looking Raptors team than the one that showed up in Game 1.
CLOSING OUT QUARTERS
After hanging with Cleveland throughout much of the second quarter, things started to unravel when Kyle Lowry went to the bench with 2:35 remaining in the half. Although the score was tied with 4:05 to go in the quarter, the Cavs reeled off a 16-2 run to end the half and lead by 14 at the break.
INABILITY TO CLOSE THE GAP
Both teams cooled down in the third, with Toronto shooting 35 percent and Cleveland shooting 41 percent, but the Cavs still outscored the Raptors 24-21 behind a 10-point quarter from Kyrie Irving. The inability to make up any ground coming out after halftime meant that Cleveland went into the fourth with its largest lead of the game, 86-69.
RUNAWAY FOURTH
Much like the third quarter, Toronto could not cut into Cleveland’s lead in the final frame. LeBron James picked up his 15th career postseason triple-double in the quarter as he finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and three steals in just 34 minutes of action. The loss marked the first time Toronto has dropped back-to-back games in the postseason.
RAPTORS PLAYER OF THE GAME
DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 22 points. He shot 8-for-18 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free throw line, while adding five rebounds, two assists and a steal in 36 minutes.
UNDERRATED RAPTORS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Terrence Ross was hot to start, but quickly got into foul trouble that forced him to the bench in the first half. Despite being limited to just 16 minutes, Ross contributed 11 points off the bench on 4-for-10 shooting, including 2-for-6 from deep and 1-for-2 from the free throw line, while adding two rebounds, an assist and two steals. Patrick Patterson and Cory Joseph also scored 11 points apiece.
THAT'S A RAP…
“They’ve done what they’re supposed to. They won two games. They won their home games. The old saying is a series doesn’t start until you lose at home. The first game was not pretty. Still, we are not quitting. I do not sense any quit in that locker room.”- Dwane Casey
BY THE #’S
37…Free throw attempts for the Cavs, just 18 for the Raptors. Cleveland shot 25-for-37 at the line, compared to Toronto’s 14-for-18 performance. The Raptors were also whistled for 31 personal fouls compared to Cleveland’s 16.
50…Points in the paint scored by Cleveland, 28 for Toronto.
46…Rebounds for the Cavaliers, 38 for the Raptors. Tristan Thompson led all rebounders with 12, while LeBron James added 11.
50…Percent shooting for Cleveland, down from 55 percent in Game 1, but still too much for the Raptors, who finished the game shooting 40 percent.
THEY SAID IT…
“I think that’s one thing teams have done throughout the postseason with me and DeMar, is try to take the ball out of our hands. I’ll find ways. We’ve got a game on Saturday to turn around and be more effective and I know I’ll be more effective on Saturday.”- Kyle Lowry on looking to bounce back in Game 3
“We’ve just got to go home and try to protect home court, just like they did. Give ourselves a chance to keep this thing going. We play well at home once we get that energy of our crowd behind us. See what we can do Saturday and hopefully Monday we can tie this thing up.”- DeMar DeRozan on bouncing back at home
“Everything has a cause and effect. They earned the fact that they had [nine] days of rest. They earned that. We made it harder on ourselves, having two tough seven-game series. But that’s no excuse. We’ve got to come in and regroup. We’ve got to find a way to cut down the things we can control.”- Dwane Casey when asked about the impact of playing 14 postseason games to Cleveland’s eight coming into this series
“We kinda got stagnant offensively. We put them on the free throw line a lot and they kind of got rolling from there. The ball kept stopping in their favour, shooting free throws, and we didn’t get anything going offensively.”- DeMar DeRozan on the run that the Cavaliers went on to close the half and build their lead
UP NEXT:
The series shifts back to Toronto for Game 3 at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday at 8:30 P.M. ET.