In a rematch of the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors 94-91 in Air Canada Centre on Friday night.
Kyrie Irving's three-pointer with 44.3 seconds left proved to be the game-winner, as he led the Cavaliers with 26 points. LeBron James added 21 points and seven assists on the night, though he wasn't as prevalent of an offensive force as he normally is.
Toronto was led by DeMar DeRozan, who poured in 32 points to follow up a 40-point opening-night performance. Center Jonas Valanciunas came up with his second straight double-double of the season, putting up 10 points and 17 rebounds.
Kevin Love poured in eight of his 18 points in the first quarter to pace the Cavaliers early, showing off his mid-range game against a stout Raptors defense, via the NBA:
They were also getting help from the three-point ball, starting the game 4-of-7 from deep.
But the Raptors used a three-headed scoring attack of DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and DeMarre Carroll to stay close as they combined for 25 of Toronto's first 33 points.
Carroll ended up with eight points and six rebounds, and Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun saw some invaluable intangibles in his game:
Lowry finished the game with 17 points.
While Love headlined the first quarter, Irving took over the second, dropping 10 points to help the Cavaliers build a 10-point halftime lead at 50-40.
The NBA took a look at him going toe-to-toe with Lowry from three-point range, as Irving terrorized Toronto's defense from all parts of the floor:
James added nine in the first 24 minutes, but he was doing plenty of work facilitating as well:
Toronto's offense wasn't doing itself any favors to overcome the deficit either, as it turned the ball over 12 times in the first half.
It was a red flag for TSN's Josh Lewenberg:
It didn't get much better in the second half, as the Raptors ended the game with 18 giveaways.
Irving, on the other hand, stayed sharp, scoring Cleveland's first five points of the third quarter.
He left Uproxx's Bansky Gonzalez floored:
The Raptors defense did improve, though, holding the Cavaliers to just nine points in the quarter's first seven-plus minutes. Thanks to DeRozan's aggressive play in which he reeled off 16 points in the third, Toronto cut the deficit to single digits midway through the frame.
But Cleveland would answer right back with a 7-2 run to regain a healthy cushion, as former NBA shooting guard Jordan Crawford saw Toronto's star on an island:
DeRozan didn't need help, though, as he sparked a Raptors 9-0 run to make it a one-point game at 66-65 with 1:03 left in the third thanks to his patented mid-range jumper, via the NBA:
His 16 third-quarter points brought him up to 26 in total and put him in elite Raptors status, per Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon:
While the Cavaliers managed to stay ahead, the Raptors made it a one-point game once again at 76-75 with 9:23 left in the fourth quarter thanks to rookie Jakob Poeltl's play down low, which included a pair of baskets.
He finished with seven points and seven rebounds in 11 minutes, as Eric Koreen of The Athletic bestowed a new nickname upon him:
With 3:42 remaining, a pair of Lowry free throws tied the game at 86. It was the first the game was tied since the opening tip.
A James foul on the offensive end of the floor with the Cavaliers in the penalty sent Lowry to the line again with 2:37 left with the game tied at 88. With one made free throw, he gave the Raptors their first lead of the night, but one made James free throw seconds later tied things back up.
After James hit a pair of free throws, DeRozan tied it up at 91 with a thunderous one-handed dunk over Tristan Thompson.
It brought the house down for the Canadian Press' Victoria Ahearn:
But after a pair of empty possessions, Irving provided the game-winner with a three-pointer, which is something he's no stranger to dating back to the NBA Finals:
While it was a loss, the Raptors should be encouraged by their performance Friday night. Despite the turnovers and the sometimes sloppy play, they took the defending NBA champions and the team that eliminated them last season to the wire despite trailing by double digits.
For the Cavaliers, nights when James isn't the most prevalent man on the offensive end can serve as a reminder of how deep this team is talent-wise.
It allows Irving and Love to make more contributions and Cleveland to make another statement to the league that it has a fearsome trio.
Postgame Reaction
While some might believe there is still a championship hangover for the Cavaliers, head coach Tyronn Lue did everything he could to refute that when speaking to the media after the win, via Fox Sports Ohio:
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey, however, didn't put too much stock in the game given the calendar, via Robert MacLeod of the Globe and Mail: "It’s a good game, but it’s early in the year. It’s too early to say, hey, this is who we are, this is where we are. But a good test for us. I don’t know if that makes sense for you but that’s kind of where it is. It’s not the end of the world or the beginning of the world, either."
James also echoed those sentiments, saying there's no need to focus on seeding this early in the season, via Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal:
We know our ultimate goal is to win a championship, but it’s too far away to even think about it. You know, it’s, is it even November yet? See, I don’t even know what month it is. It’s almost Halloween. It’s too far away to be contemplating the end-of-the-season goals for our team.
Even if it's too early, it's reasonable to think the Cavaliers and Raptors will meet again somewhere down the road in the playoffs as they are the class of the Eastern Conference.
If Friday night is an early indication of anything though, it's that these two teams will be going at it all season regardless of what time of year it is.
Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.