4-26-2021 at Raptors

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The Cavaliers have been shorthanded on countless occasions this year. Monday night’s contest took that to the extreme.

Down seven rotation players and playing the second-half of a back-to-back, the Wine &amp; Gold closed out their recent roadie in the Sunshine State, keeping up with the Raptors for most of the night before running out of gas in the final period – dropping the 112-96 decision to the Raptors in Tampa.

Playing without Collin Sexton (concussion), Larry Nance Jr. (thumb), Taurean Prince (ankle), Matthew Dellavedova (neck), Lamar Stevens (concussion), Dylan Windler (knee) and Isaiah Hartenstein (concussion), the Cavaliers actually jumped out to a 10-2 lead to start the game and held Toronto to just 16 points in the second quarter.

But Cleveland had a mental lapse late in the third quarter which proved costly, giving Toronto a double-digit lead heading into the fourth. The Cavs would eventually cut the deficit to just five early in the period, but the Raptors pushed it double-figures midway through and extended their edge from there.

Rookie Isaac Okoro led the Cavaliers with a career-high 20 points, going 8-for-16 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the stripe to go with six boards.

Jarrett Allen followed up with 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting, adding seven boards, a pair of assists and a steal.

Darius Garland doubled-up with 13 points and a team-high 10 assists and Kevin Love rounded out the starters in double-figures with 11 points, seven boards and four helpers.

The only other Cavalier in double-figures was Damyean Dotson, who hasn’t played since late March, but still chipped in with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting off the bench.

Toronto’s Pascal Siakam led all scorers with 25 points, going 11-of-19 from the floor. Kyle Lowry handed out 10 assists for the Raptors and Malachi Flynn chipped in with 18 points off the bench.

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

Cedi Osman steals a pass on defense and passes ahead to Darius Garland who has an easy two-handed dunk on the fast break.

Monday’s turning point was a tough one to watch.

Trailing by just four points, 74-70, with 45 seconds remaining in the quarter, Malachi Flynn scored on a layup to put the Raptors up six. On the ensuing inbounds pass, Kevin Love tapped the ball in bounds. Stanley Johnson simply picked up the loose ball and fed Flynn, who drilled a three-pointer to put Toronto up nine.

A frustrated Love then fouled Freddie Gillespie on Toronto’s final possession of the quarter. The Raptors reserve drained a pair of free throws to put his squad up 11 heading to the final period.

By the Numbers - 7.5 … assists that Darius Garland is averaging – along with a 20.8ppg scoring mark – over his last 13 games, dishing out at least five dimes in 12 of those games, including double-digit helpers in two of them.

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, on his shorthanded squad’s effort on Monday night …

"The circumstances were obviously tough – being down bodies on the second-half of a back-to-back versus a fully healthy team in the Raptors that’s been playing really good basketball. They run; they pressure you defensively. Our guys could have laid down tonight, but they didn’t. They gave us what they had."

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

With Monday’s contest in the rearview mirror, the Cavaliers are now done with multiple-game road trips until the final two games – and will play eight of their final 11 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

That run begins with a five-game homestand that tips off on Wednesday night – as the Wine &amp; Gold play three games in four nights beginning with a matchup against Orlando. Following that, it’s a weekend back-to-back – with the Wizards rolling in on Friday night followed by a visit from the Heat on Saturday.

Cleveland closes out the homestand with a midweek Western Conference back-to-back, facing the Suns next Tuesday night, with Damian Lillard and the Blazers in town on Wednesday.

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Shorthanded Cavs Fall to Raptors in Tampa

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Verizon Game Rewind - Cavs at Raptors

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Okoro Dunks off the Feed from Garland

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Garland Scores a Runner at the Buzzer

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Wade to Allen for the Slam Dunk

Garland Feeds Allen for the One-Handed Dunk

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Feat. Highlight: Steal Leads to Easy Dunk

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Dotson to Thomas for Three

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4‑26‑2021 at Raptors