5-1-18 at Raptors

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Wrap-Up -- The Raptors were the first team in the NBA to clinch a postseason berth and, after winning 59 games, were the top seed in the Conference headed into the postseason. But after Tuesday night, it’d be hard to say that the Cavaliers aren’t in their heads.

The Wine &amp; Gold didn’t lead at any point in regulation, but never trailed in overtime – stealing Game 1 in dramatic fashion with the 113-112 victory, taking their seventh straight postseason game over Toronto and erasing Toronto’s homecourt advantage in the process.

Adding to what might be a sleepless Tuesday night for the Raptors, LeBron James – fresh off three 40-point performances in the previous round – went just 3-for-15 in the fourth quarter and overtime combined and didn’t score a single point in the extra-session.

James still earned the 21st postseason triple-double of his illustrious Playoff career – finishing with a team-high 26 points and 13 assists to go with 11 boards, a steal and a pair of blocked shots. James – who went off for 35 points and 17 assists without a single turnover in a March matchup against the Raptors – played 47 minutes without a single miscue on Tuesday night.

But after shouldering the load in the First Round, the four-time MVP got plenty of help in Game 2 of the Second – with the Wine &amp; Gold featuring five players in double-figures – including a combined 30 points from Tristan Thompson and Jeff Green off the bench.

With just a two-day turnaround after finally putting away the Pacers after seven bruising games, the Cavaliers got off to a sluggish start in the Semifinal opener – trailing by two touchdowns after one quarter.

But Cleveland found its sea legs in the second period – netting 38 points and heading into the locker room tailing by just three. Toronto took charge again after intermission, leading by a baker’s dozen midway through the third quarter.

The Raptors led by double-digits early in the final period, but the Cavaliers continued to chip away as the Raptors went cold – shooting just 21 percent on 5-for-24 shooting in the quarter.

Emblematic of Toronto’s late struggles, Jonas Valanciunas – who tormented Cleveland with 13 points in the third period – blew several easy buckets, including three straight misses from point-blank range with 3:35 to play and a possible game-winner with 0.6 remaining – going just 1-for-7 in the fourth quarter and overtime.

The Cavaliers didn’t exactly light it up in the fourth, but drew within striking distance in the closing moments and finally tied the affair on LeBron’s short fadeaway jumper with just over 30 seconds to play in regulation.

In overtime, Kyle Korver initiated the scoring with a triple to give the Cavs their first lead – 108-105. DeMar DeRozan got the Raptors back to within one with a jumper on Toronto’s next possession. But JR Smith drilled his fifth bomb of the night followed by a short turnaround jumper by Tristan Thompson to give Cleveland its biggest lead of the night.

Kyle Lowry got the Raptors to within one after converting a three-point play with under a minute to play in OT. But the Cavaliers wouldn’t let Toronto score again – with Fred VanVleet’s three-pointer rolling out with 3.4 to play to seal the deal.

Swish was razor-sharp from long-range on Tuesday night – going 5-for-6 from deep, 6-of-11 overall, to finish with 20 points, two boards and a pair of steals. Fellow sharpshooter, Kyle Korver, was right behind – tallying 19 points in the win, going 7-for-17 from the floor, including a 5-of-12 mark from long-distance.

Jeff Green was rock-solid off the bench – finishing with 16 points, going 4-of-4 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the stripe, adding three assists, a pair of steals and a blocked shot.

Tristan Thompson, who got the start in Game 7 against Indiana but came off the bench once again to start the Semis, was outstanding once again – posting his second straight double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, grabbing nine of those boards off the offensive glass.

”Getting an offensive rebound on the road takes the life out of the crowd, and that’s big,” said Thompson. “That’s part of the offense – getting an offensive rebound to get us a second chance and a couple times we kicked it out – got a swing, swing – and got a three. That was definitely huge.”

Kevin Love struggled shooting the ball in Game 1, but still managed to lead the squad with 13 boards in the victory.

DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 22 points, going 10-for-20 from the floor but taking the collar in four three-point attempts. Valanciunas finished with 21 points and a game-high 21 boards, but he did most of his offensive damage in the middle quarters before running out of steam late.

Jeff Green chips in 16 points off the bench to help the Cavs win Game 1.

”I think we did a good job of neutralizing their bench; that’s the key to their team,” praised Tyronn Lue after the win. “We know Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan are All-Stars, two great players, but if you neutralize their bench, good things can happen. In that second half, holding DeRozan to seven points and Lowry to eight was big for us.”

Neither team shot particularly well – the Raptors were at 43 percent; the Cavaliers, 42 – but the Wine &amp; Gold continued their tradition from beyond the arc against Toronto. In last year’s Semifinals sweep, the Cavs canned at least 13 triples in each meeting. In Game 1, they hit 14.

The Cavaliers were also excellent protecting the basketball on Tuesday night – committing six turnovers that led to just four Raptors’ points. Toronto, on the other hand, committed 14 miscues which Cleveland converted into 21 points.

Turning Point -- Cavaliers legend Austin Carr likes to say that pressure bursts the pipes. And when the fourth quarter rolled around on Tuesday night, there was a palpable pressure at Air Canada Centre as the Wine &amp; Gold began mounting their comeback.

Whether it was Cleveland’s defense or the Raptors recalling their previous frustrations against Cleveland, Toronto simply couldn’t buy a bucket down the stretch of Game 1, with their last field goal coming on a DeMar DeRozan floater with 4:19 to play.

The Raptors would proceed to miss their last 11 shots from the floor – along with a key five-second violation with 2:27 to play – that would prove to be their undoing as the Cavs closed out regulation on a 16-9 run before putting them away in OT.

By the Numbers – 401, 2,003 … all-time steals and rebounds that LeBron James has tallied in his postseason career. He’s the only player in NBA history with over 400 picks in the Playoffs and became just the seventh player to grab at least 2,000 boards in postseason play.

Quotable – LeBron James, on his supporting cast in Game 1 …

”They were phenomenal, man. (Kevin Love) kind of struggled in the first half and Jeff (Green) picked him up. Kyle (Korver) had a big second half and Kev came back and had an unbelievable second half and was just a monster on the glass. JR (Smith) was consistent all game with his ability to shoot the ball and Double-T just (Tristan Thompson) picked up right where he left off in Game 7.”

Up Next -- After stealing Game 1 on Tuesday night, the Cavaliers will try to get greedy on Thursday night in an early start – 6 p.m. – at Air Canada Centre. The series shifts back to Cleveland for Game 3 on Saturday night at 8:30, with Game 4 slated for Monday night (5/7) at the same start time. The Eastern Conference Semis then return to Toronto next Wednesday (5/9) for Game 5, back to The Q the following Friday (5/11) and, if necessary, Game 7 goes down north of the border next Sunday (5/13) – all times TBD.

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5‑1‑18 at Raptors