CLEVELAND- Up 3-0, underdogs for the first time in the LeBron James era, the three-time defending East champs wanted to make a statement.
And boy, did they ever.
The Cleveland Cavaliers started the game hot out of the gates and never looked back. The Raptors couldn’t handle the Cavs shooters at all tonight. Kevin Love also made life miserable as he confused Toronto’s defense by getting inside the paint and hitting outside shots. Love scored 23 points.
J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver made key three pointers that really sparked the offense. Smith scored 15 points and Korver scored 16. LeBron James dominated again which is no surprise at all. James scored 29 points and had 11 assists for another double-double. George Hill chipped in 12 points.
When asked about the response of his teammates in the semi-finals, James said, ” They tried to bury them alive in the first series and they took it personal and from game one they was wonderful.”
The Cavs defense gave the Raptors fits as everyone was quick to close out on shots throughout the game. Toronto couldn’t handle the Cavs quickness and toughness.
The game was pretty much over in the third quarter when the Cavs led 82-59. Everything went downhill for the Raptors after that. The Cavs stretched the lead to 25 points with the score 97-72 in the third quarter after James nailed an impossible shot while falling down. The game continued to get lopsided from there. In fact, even with the close finishes in games one and three, the Raptors looked flat-out awful in this series. They did not bring the sort of intensity that the Indiana Pacers brought against the Cavs. Cleveland won 128-93 and completed the four game sweep of the Raptors.
Kyle Lowry scored just five points. Jonas Valanchiunas scored 18 points DeMar DeRozan was limited to 13 points. The Cavs definitely responded with a lot of passion in this series.
Cleveland awaits the winner of the series between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers, as the Sixers won earlier, 103-92.