Wine and Gold Take Thriller in Toronto

Friday night’s thriller in Toronto featured eight ties and one lead-change. And that one was all that mattered.

Trailing for most of the night, the Cavaliers clawed their way back time after time, finally getting an opportunity to take the lead on Darius Garland’s two free throws with 4.8 seconds to play in regulation. The third-year man drilled the pair and Toronto couldn’t covert at the buzzer – giving the Wine and Gold their third straight win and sixth in their last eight, dropping the Raptors in a 102-101 thriller at Scotiabank Arena.

Toronto was clinging to a one-point lead with 10.6 seconds remaining when Collin Sexton won a jumpball over Gary Trent Jr., tipping the ball to Cedi Osman. Cleveland worked the ball to Garland, who was fouled on his way to the basket. Nick Nurse challenged the call, but was unsuccessful.

Garland calmed drained both free throws and Toronto called its final timeout. On the Raptors final possession, OG Anunoby’s short jumper drew iron and rookie Scottie Barnes couldn’t tip in the miss, as the jubilant Cavaliers bench poured onto the court at the buzzer.

Five Cavaliers notched double-figures, including Cedi Osman and Ricky Rubio off the bench.

Garland scored 12 of his team-high 21 points in the final period, going 4-of-5 from the floor in the quarter and 8-of-12 overall, adding a game-high eight assists and a steal in the victory.

Evan Mobley followed up with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go with five boards, two assists and a blocked shot.

Jarrett Allen continued his stellar play on Friday, doubling-up with 16 points and a game-high 15 boards, five off the offensive glass, adding a pair of steals, a block and his first three-pointer of the season – banking home a fourth-quarter bomb at the shot clock buzzer to tie game at 94-apiece.

Cedi Osman also kept rolling – especially from beyond the arc – going 5-of-10 from long-range for 17 points in 26 minutes off the bench. Ricky Rubio chipped in with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, adding five boards and four assists.

Once again, the Cavaliers were solid at the stripe and kept their opponent off it. Cleveland went 16-of-19 from the line – including the final two makes by Garland – while the Raptors attempted just nine free throws, sinking five.

Toronto’s leading scorer, OG Anunoby, continued that trend on Friday – pacing both squads with 23 points to go with six boards and five dimes.

Miss any of the action? Find all the highlights and photos in the Game Tracker.

Jarrett Allen throws a buzzer beater, hits a three and celebrates in style.

The Cavaliers trailed by 15 points in the third quarter, but fought back to get within striking distance heading to the fourth. In that final period, Toronto still led by eight points with just over eight minutes to play.

But Darius Garland would score Cleveland’s next six points – drilling a triple and converting an and-1 to cut the deficit. After buckets by Collin Sexton and Dean Wade, Fred VanVleet hit a step-back jumper to put the Raptors up three.

But Jarrett Allen’s unlikely three with 4:42 to play tied the affair for the first time since late in the first quarter. And from there, it was game on.

By the Numbers - 21.3, 16.0 … Jarrett Allen’s scoring and rebound averages over the Wine and Gold’s recent three-game win streak, going 23-for-34 from the floor, 17-for-24 from the line and 1-of-2 from three-point range.

The 5th-year big man from Texas now has five double-doubles on the season, has three games with at least two blocked shots and at least one steal in every game but one.

J.B. Bickerstaff, on the play of Darius Garland on Friday …

”(Toronto) is a good, physical, active defensive team that tries to get you on your heels. And I thought in the second half, Darius put them on their heels. He was attacking downhill, getting into the paint, making the right reads. But he had his mind made up that he was gonna help us win this game – and he went out and did it.”

Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and Rafa Hernandez-Brito from Power 89.1.

The Wine and Gold have one more road test before returning to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for a very favorable home schedule to close out the month.

On Sunday evening, Cleveland tries to make it four straight, traveling to the Big Apple for a matchup against Julius Randle and the Knicks. From there, the Cavs come home for four straight, and eight of the next 10, to wrap up November – beginning with a Wednesday night visit from Bradley Beal and the Wizards.