The Toronto Raptors started the second round of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Raptors took the lead early on in the game, and held on to it until the last 30 seconds, when Cleveland tied it up to take the game into overtime, where the Cavaliers eventually won by one point.
The Raptors lead the Cavaliers almost the entire game. After a great first quarter, the Raptors were leading the game 33-19. The Cavaliers rallied in the second quarter to reduce the lead to only three by halftime. The Raptors outscored the Cavaliers in the third quarter, to end it with a score of 87-82. In the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers pushed back to tie the score at 105 with only 30 seconds left in the game, to force the game into overtime. The Cavaliers took the lead in overtime, and held on to eventually win the game 113-112.
Regardless of the loss, the Raptors starters played a great game. Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan finished the game with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Point guard Kyle Lowry had 18 points and 3 rebounds, with 10 assists. However, the star of the game was center Jonas Valanciunas, who had an astounding 21 rebounds and 21 points. As well, small forward O.G Anunoby finished the night with 7 points, and point forward Serge Ibaka had 9 points and 2 rebounds. Toronto’s bench players also had a good night, with a combined 35 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists.
LeBron James finished the night with 26 points and 11 rebounds with 13 assists, and played nearly 47 minutes. Kevin Love had 13 rebounds and 7 points, adding to the starters combined total of 76 points. The Cavaliers bench players contributed 37 points to their final winning score.
This isn’t the first time the two teams have faced off in postseason action, as they previously met in Round 2 of the 2017 playoffs, where Cleveland swept the Raptors. They also met in Round 3 of the 2016 playoffs, that went all the way to game 7, which Cleveland eventually won to go on and win the championship against the Warriors. Hopefully, this year will end with a different result.
The Raptors are coming off of a record breaking season, where they clinched the number one spot in the Eastern Conference, won the Atlantic Division title, and broke their franchise record for regular-season wins. The Raptors concluded their first round series against the Washington Wizards in six games. Defense seemed to be lacking in round 1, contributing to the Raptors two losses during the series.
However, the Cavaliers just completed Game 7 of their round 1 series against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. The Cavaliers lost game one of the series, which is a first for LeBron James in his career. The Pacers rallied with the Cavaliers throughout the entire round, defeating them in some games by over 30 points. No Cleveland Cavaliers player, aside from LeBron James, scored more than 20 points in their series against the Pacers.
The Toronto Raptors Global Ambassador, Drake, was at the game tonight in his signature seat cheering on the team. As well, so was long-time Raptors Superfan Nav Bhatia, who also provided much needed support from his courtside seats for the start of this playoff round. Surely the Raptors will continue to play strong and persevere to win game 2 on Thursday at Air Canada Centre.
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