Behind the energy of a raucous crowd on Thursday night, the Toronto Raptors struck back against the Cleveland Cavaliers, blowing the game open in a clutch fourth quarter performance in which they came out with a 126-104 win.
It was the Raptors best performance on both ends this series, the type of performance that reinstates confidence in a team and fanbase that had begun to worry. Jamison Battle, the Raptors ‘break in case of emergency’ contingency plan, extinguished a fiery Cleveland team that was threatening to engulf the Raptors late. In the fourth quarter alone Battle was a +15, drilling four threes in his eight minutes, the crowd impossibly summoning more energy after each one found the bottom of the net.
The Raptors found a recipe for success even with the absence of starting point guard Immanuel Quickley, a good thing considering he was recently ruled out for the remainder of the series. The duo of Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett both set playoff career-highs with 33 points apiece and were bolstered by the emergent performance of Raptors rookie Collin Murray-Boyles, who scored 22 points, becoming the first Raptor rookie to score 20+ points in a playoff game.
With an early start this afternoon, the Raptors are hoping they can bring that momentum forward, while the Cavaliers are looking to take firm control of the series heading back to Cleveland.
Remember, the series doesn’t truly begin until the home team loses.
Series 2-1 Cleveland
Raptors Outlook
Offensive Rating: 118.2 (3rd) | Defensive Rating: 117.3 (13th) | Net Rating: +0.9 (8th)
While Toronto smashed Cleveland in game three, they can’t be satisfied with winning one game, if anything the win proved that they can win the whole series, the Cavaliers are from an unassailable juggernaut. The Raptors found ways to keep Donovan Mitchell and James Harden from slicing through the paint like a hot knife through butter, they proved that they can slow down the offensive machine led by two elite guards. The Cavalier backcourt shot the majority of their field goals from beyond the arc, the Raptors defense deterring them from as many straight line drives as the previous games. In game three Mitchell and Harden shot a combined 4/17 from three, but were 8/11 inside the arc. The Raptors made a concerted effort to limit their drives and forced them to playmake from the perimeter instead.
On the flipside Toronto had one of the best shooting performances they’ve had all season, hitting 14 of their 23 attempts, a blistering 60.9% hit rate. They likely won’t get that level of shooting performance again, but there are other areas they can improve in to balance that out today.
For example, the Raptors gave up 16 offensive rebounds in game three, they got lucky as Cleveland failed to capitalize and scored only 16 second-chance points. Finding ways to close possessions is going to be critical, whether that means Jakob Poeltl figuring something out, or opting to start Murray-Boyles, the Raptors need to win that aspect of the possession battle.
It also wouldn’t hurt if the man who was brought to the team to provide instant offense actually… provided instant offense? Brandon Ingram has struggled heavily this series, averaging 12 points per game and shooting below 40% from the field. He just hasn’t at any point looked comfortable in this series. Even when he was getting decent looks in game two, they rattled around the rim and refused to fall. I would love to see Ingram look to shoot more threes in today’s game, to this point he’s only taking two per game, well below his season average of 4.6 per game (which is still low, in my opinion).
The Raptors unlocked something with Murray-Boyles and Battle, so if they can close defensive possessions, Ingram can return to some semblance of the player we know he can be, and Barnes and Barrett continue to attack with fervor, there’s a very good chance Toronto can tie this series today.
Cavaliers Outlook
Offensive Rating: 117.3 (4th) | Defensive Rating: 118.2 (14th) | Net Rating: -0.9 (9th)
For the same reasons the Raptors should be wary of the game three result, the Cavaliers should feel confident that it was just a blip on their route to victory. The Raptors shot better from three than they shot from the free throw line, I wouldn’t bet on that happening again. And up until the last game, Mitchell and Harden were shredding the Raptors’ defense, in the first two games Mitchell put up 32 and 30 points respectively, Harden had 22 and 28. They have proof-of-concept that they can do better than Thursday’s 15 and 18 points performances.
Even if Cleveland’s offense returns to form, they still need to find ways to be better defensively. They’ve allowed the Raptors offense to score at a higher rate than it did in the regular season, and in game three the Raptors found new ways to exploit the defense as Barnes rained a bevy of short midrange jumpers over the Cavalier defenders.
Cleaning that up, capitalizing on second chance opportunities, and finding ways to be successful against a defense that will feature far more of Murray-Boyles and Barnes together will be the Cavaliers path to success.
That is if the Raptors (not so) secret weapon doesn’t just annihilate them from deep again.
Game Info
Tip-Off: 1:00 p.m. ET
Television: TSN
Venue: Scotiabank Arena
Starting Lineups (Projected)
Cleveland Cavaliers
PG: James Harden
SG: Donovan Mitchell
SF: Dean Wade
PF: Evan Mobley
C: Jarrett Allen
Toronto Raptors
PG: Ja’Kobe Walter
SG: RJ Barrett
SF: Brandon Ingram
PF: Scottie Barnes
C: Jakob Poeltl
Injury Report
Toronto Raptors
Immanuel Quickley (Hamstring) – OUT
A.J. Lawson (Back) – QUESTIONABLE
Cleveland Cavaliers
None reported.
TeamSpreadMoneyTotalToronto Raptors+4.5 (–118)+144O 220.5 (-110)Cleveland Cavaliers-4.5 (-104)-172U 220.5 (-110)
Odds as of Apr. 26th, 9:00 a.m. ET
