Kyle Lowry is a solid starting point guard, while shooting guard DeMar DeRozan made the All-Star team last year. Williams coming off the bench gives the Raptors three guards capable of carrying the load and that is exactly what they did against Cleveland. Lowry, DeRozan and Williams combined to score 79 of Toronto’s 110 points. They were efficient in doing so, too, combining to shoot 21-of-51 from the floor and 32-of-34 from the line. The Cavs are sorely missing a player like Williams to ignite the offense off the bench. Cleveland’s bench combined for just 19 points, barely more than half of Williams’ total.
King without a crown – One week after being named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, LeBron James has played the biggest role in his team losing four straight. He’s the best player in the NBA and he hasn’t played like it. If James plays like he is capable of the Cavs don’t have as many questions. He’s the leader of the team and his actions and discouraging body language are not setting a good example. He has said the right things before and after games, but the words are hollow when James doesn’t follow through when the game starts.
LeBron James: The Cleveland Cavaliers are a “very fragile team right now” | cleveland.com
“We’re a very fragile team right now,” James said, following a 110-93 drubbing by the Toronto Raptors at home for the Cavaliers’ fourth consecutive loss. “We were a fragile team from the beginning. Any little adversity that hits us, we just shell up.” The “adversity” that slapped the Cavaliers Saturday night was Raptors back-up guard Lou Williams. Cleveland, following James’ lead, came out with off-the-charts energy, body language, and ball movement (three things James said were lacking in Friday night’s loss to Washington) and jumped on the Raptors with the game’s first 12 points. At one point, it was 24-6 Cleveland.
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Final score: Cleveland Cavaliers get blown out at home by Toronto Raptors, 110-93 – Fear The Sword
The Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers both entered tonight on the second night of a back to back. The Cavs entered the game with a lot of energy and built an 18 point lead. It was made on quicksand. Reserve guard Lou Williams checked in for the Raptors about halfway through the first quarter and tallied 24 first half points on just nine shots. He picked on Will Cherry, he picked on Dion Waiters. By the time he was done, the Raptors had managed a halftime lead. Cleveland had moved the ball, pushed it in transition, and contested shots in the first quarter. That trend did not continue. The Raptors kept playing, finished with 42 free throw attempts, made 90% of them, and wound up with a 110-93 win.
Raptors Win 110-93 as Lou Williams Records Career High 36 Points – Raptors HQ
With the Cavs at 5-7, this is now LeBron’s worst start since 2003, his rookie season. James finished the game with 15 points and 10 assists. Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving had a combined 44 points but it wasn’t enough. Shawn Marion and Dion Waiters also couldn’t contribute much as they went a combined 4-of-15 from the field. As for Toronto, the team has now won four in a row and are off to their best start in franchise history. The good news also keeps rolling in. According to ESPN.com, Tyler Hansborough (sprained right shoulder) and James Johnson (sprained right ankle) will be re-evaluated Sunday in Toronto. Hansborough sat out his second straight game while Johnson missed his third straight game. The Raptors will now return home as they prepare to take on the Phoenix Suns at the Air Canada Centre.
Raptors ratings on the rise, but there’s still work to be done | Simmons Says |
The sizzling Toronto Raptors are ecstatic over their rising television ratings in Canada. Their early season numbers are up well over 100% from a year ago. That’s reason to celebrate, sort of. To understand where they are and how difficult their fight for widespread acceptance is, consider this: Most Raptors games this season have drawn audiences of somewhere around 250,000.
Raptors ignite Cleveland crowd, storm past Cavaliers | Toronto Star
“I can’t even explain it, man, honestly,” said DeMar DeRozan. “It felt like a playoff game, honestly, with our fans being in there, cheering and singing the national anthem. “It was just an amazing thing, especially for me. It’s really something for me because I’ve been here through the tough times and to see everything now — going on the road, seeing fans, seeing Raptor jerseys in the crowd — it definitely means something.” “Unbelievable” was how coach Dwane Casey put it. “It was like old-school soccer, travelling with the flag and all that. That was big. “I thought they were being sarcastic and I looked up in the first quarter and it was our fans. It was great to see, great to have. When you put your hearts on the line and lay it on the line every night, fans will follow. Win, lose or draw, you play hard and represent the city and the country, good things will happen.”
Recap: “This is our home” Raptors take over Cleveland | Raptors Watch
Still, the Raptors were getting carved up while missing easy baskets on the offensive end. Seemingly for the first time this season, Kevin Love decided to start playing in the post, and was scoring buckets down-low which the Raptors had no answer for. Enter Lou Williams – the captain. You can thank sweet Lou for tonight’s victory more than anyone else. The Raptors trailed 34-21 after one, but if it wasn’t for Lou’s 10 points in the first quarter, the Raptors would’ve been lost, and in a huge hole. It was a career night for Lou. 36 points in 29 minutes and a +/- of +37 (game-high). He went 15-15 from the free-throw line, and his ability to get there was just as impressive. In the second quarter, Lou continued to do what he does, and the Raptors used that momentum to fuel a 14-4 run to start the second frame and cut the lead to just three. The Raptors also got some quality minutes from Chuck Hayes in the second on both ends of the floor.
Post Game: Williams leads Toronto Raptors to win over Cavs
Defense: B+ Like the offense, the defense wasn’t very good in the early stages of the game. But like this Raptors team has taught us time and time again, this is a game of four quarters. After shooting more than 70% from the field for the vast majority of the opening frame, Cleveland cooled down for the remainder of the game. The “big 3″ got off to a solid start in this one, but had a quiet finish. Kyrie Irving had 18 points in the first half, and finished with only 21. Kevin Love looked like a focal point in the Cavs offense in the beginning, and finished with just 23, although he appeared to be on pace for 30+. King James seemed somewhat passive in this one, dropping impressive dimes throughout, but never really leaving an emphatic imprint on this game— he finished with 15 points and 10 assists. Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson pitched in too, combining for 24, but it wasn’t enough. As a team, the Cavaliers shot only 43% from the field, and went 3/16 from long range.
The Cavaliers, considered the league’s best team when the season began, have been hit with plenty of adversity. Cleveland is 5-7 and there is already talk of the team playing in the dark and the players having bad body language. The Cavaliers have a day off to think about their issues before hosting Orlando on Monday. Despite the problems, James is convinced better days are ahead. “I’m very optimistic,” he said. “I’m very positive, more positive than I thought I’d be right now. We’ll look at what we did wrong, the things we did right and be ready (for Monday). It’s still too early for me. … I can’t be negative at all. Once I crack, it trickles down to everybody else, I would never do that to these guys.”
Die-hard Raptors fans an ‘amazing thing’ | Raptors | Sports | Toronto Sun
“It’s dope man,” Williams said of the vocal support the team got Saturday night. “This has been an incredible experience as far as the fans go. We have a very, very excited fan base. They are excited about the progress that this team has made and they show their appreciation and as a player you always appreciate that.” DeMar DeRozan, who has been through some low times in terms of fan support for this team, took things a step further. “I can’t even explain it, man,” he said. “It felt like a playoff game, honestly, with our fans being in there, cheering and singing the national anthem. It was just an amazing thing, especially for me. It’s really something for me because I’ve been here through the tough times and to see everything now, going on the road, seeing fans, seeing Raptor jerseys in the crowd, it definitely means something. I think we’re just taking over the midwest.”
Lou just too sweet as Raptors come back to beat Cavs | Sports | Toronto Sun
As for the anger, Williams said that’s always there. “We are pretty angry as it is,” Williams said. “We pay attention to what people are saying and we want to be a group that is being taken very seriously. We have worked hard to gain that respect and its going to take more time so we go into every game with a chip on our shoulder.” The comeback from 18 down marked the fifth time this year that the Raptors have rallied from being down 10 or more to win. They share the league-leading mark with Milwaukee for double-digit comebacks. Casey just liked the composure his team played with, not getting rattled when they got down early. “We started getting stops, we slowed them down,” he said. “We knew that train was going to come out of the (station) really roaring and they did. And we didn’t give in, we sustained our focus and our defensive disposition and just kept on playing. That’s what you have to do against a good team like that, you know their backs are against the wall, they’ve lost three straight, you know they’re going to come in upset and our guys were smart enough to withstand their onslaught at the beginning.” And as much as Williams scoring was the talk of the post-game, his defence did not go unnoticed either. “Most of all, I’m impressed with Lou’s defence, too,” Casey said. “He had a reputation of being a scorer, but now he’s doing a much better job defensively for us which allows him to stay in and guard guys like Waiters and Irving and people like that.” Williams acknowledged his defensive responsibilities here are a little more than what has been asked of him in the past. “It’s getting better by the day and understanding our schemes and what this coaching staff expects of us all,” Williams said. “This is a defensive-minded coaching staff and in order for me to stay on the floor, they expect me to guard.” Normally when DeMar DeRozan gets mentioned in a game story, it’s because he is scoring in bunches and a solid second half had him finish the night with 20. But like Hayes, it was DeRozan’s defence tha
Sweet Lou Williams Leads Raptors Demolition Of The Cavaliers | Pro Bball Report
“We knew that team was going to come out of the gate roaring and they did,” said Raptors Head Coach Dwane Casey. “We didn’t give in. We sustained our focus and our defensive disposition and just kept playing and that is what you have to do against a good team.” It could easily be argued that after the first 7.5 minutes of the game, the Cavaliers no longer looked like a good team as Toronto outscored them 104-69 the rest of the way. This became as epic a beat down as the Raptors 124-82 demolition of the Bucks in Toronto the night before.
