Raptors Fight Hard in Loss to the Cavs

The Raptors can hold their heads up high after a 120-112 loss to the Cavaliers last night.

The Raptors can hold their heads up high after a 120-112 loss to the Cavaliers last night. Unlike the train wreck that occurred at home last Friday against the Warriors, the Raptors battled Cleveland to the wire after falling behind by 19 points in the third quarter.

The first quarter was a fun brand of basketball from both teams. The Raptors moved the ball, involving Jonas early and often, and ended the quarter with eight assists and only one turnover. DeRozan, who was clearly intent on getting to the rim instead of launching contested bombs, led the way for the Raptors with 12 points. On the other end, James Johnson and Valanciunas struggled to defend LeBron in pick-and-roll situations, which resulted in a number of easy baskets for Mozgov like the one you see below.

LeBron finished the quarter with four assists.

The second quarter turned out to be the Raptors’ Achilles heel. Offensively, the Raptors – particularly Terrence Ross – missed several open looks, but the bigger problem was on the defensive end, where there were a number of breakdowns.  Kyrie Irving blew by Vasquez repeatedly but the bigger dagger was the long ball. James drew Raptor power forwards into his sphere again and again out of pick-and-rolls, creating wide open looks for Cleveland’s stretch fours on the perimeter. Kevin Love hit all three of his three-point shots and finished with 11 points in the quarter. James Jones also hit two wide-open threes.

It looked like things might go the way of the Golden State game early in the third but Toronto refused to let that happen. After falling behind by 19 points, the Raptors went on an inspired 15-8 run that included a monster slam and two big three pointers from DeMar.

Valanciunas was an absolute beast in the quarter, scoring ten points, pulling down six rebounds and tackling LeBron James to the floor to prevent a dunk with 18 seconds to play.

Riding the momentum of the run that ended the third, Lou Williams absolutely stole the show in the fourth, scoring 14 of the Raptors first 17 points and finishing with 21 points in the quarter. Terrence Ross hit a three to put the Raptors up 96-95 with 6:14 to play but LeBron simply proved to be too much for the Raptors to handle. Noticeably angry after the hard foul at the end of the third, LeBron went into beast mode after the Cavs blew the lead, stream rolling his way to 17 points in the quarter and burying the Raptors’ comeback hopes in the process.

Thoughts:

  • This was a spirited effort from Toronto but without Lowry the talent gap was simply too much to overcome.
  • LeBron is like a magnet and nervous defenders really had a difficult time knowing who was responsible for guarding whom when James ran the pick-and-roll.
  • It’s amazing how much better Cleveland’s spacing is since shaking up their roster. They’re now 20-4 since starting the season 19-20.
  • Not sure what was up with Patterson. I am usually a fan of his defense but he wasn’t with it last night, especially in the second quarter.
  • Terrence Ross got off to a slow start but he was locked in on both ends in the fourth quarter: 12 minutes, 8 points, 3-3 FG, 2-2 3PM
  • Valanciunas was awesome. Some glaring defensive lapses in the first half but goodness gracious I loved the feistiness. It’s amazing what happens when you give him the rock: 26 points, 12-17 FG, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks.
  • Last night was only the second time DeRozan hit 2 threes in a game all season.