Cavs<\/a> lost to the surging Toronto Raptors, 110-99, inside raucous Scotiabank Arena. <\/p>\nThe latest win gives Toronto the season series sweep \u2014 unless these two Eastern Conference rivals meet again in the NBA Cup. <\/p>\n
For now, it\u2019s the Raptors\u2019 first time sweeping Cleveland since 2019-20. <\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we competed,\u201d Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said following the loss. \u201cThere\u2019s some positives. I liked our spirit. I liked our compete level.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cavs entered the game without seven every-night rotation players \u2014 Darius Garland (injury management), Sam Merrill (sprained right hand), Jarrett Allen (strained right finger), De\u2019Andre Hunter (rest), Craig Porter Jr. (left hamstring strain), Dean Wade (hyperextended knee) and Max Strus (foot surgery recovery). <\/p>\n
That left them with 10 guys in uniform. At various points in a more-competitive-than-expected first half, it seemed like it might\u2019ve been enough. <\/p>\n
But Toronto, now on an eight-game winning streak, finished the second quarter on a 13-2 run, going in front by three at the break. <\/p>\n
Cleveland never recovered. <\/p>\n
The Raptors opened the third on a lively 6-2 push that forced Atkinson to call timeout. Moments later, that Toronto advantage reached 10 \u2014 the first time either team was in front by double digits. <\/p>\n
By the 1:18 mark of the third quarter, the Toronto lead had ballooned to a game-high 14. <\/p>\n
Even though Cleveland made a late push, cutting that deficit to four with 4:37 remaining, the Raptors got a few stops and made some timely shots, solidifying their third win over the Cavaliers.<\/p>\n
Toronto led for the final 24:54. <\/p>\n
Monday was the just the second time in the Atkinson era that Cleveland failed to crack the 100-point mark, snapping a streak of 62 consecutive games \u2014 regular season or playoffs. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe can find better shots,\u201d Atkinson said. \u201cThe big part of that is our spacing. Especially when we\u2019re down some guys, our spacing has to be almost perfect. Right now, we\u2019re still trying to figure it out because with spacing comes our cutting principles. A lot of things come off that, so get the spacing better, and our shot selection will improve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donovan Mitchell, one of two usual Cavs starters in uniform, had just 17 points on an inefficient 6 of 20 from the field and 3 of 12 from 3-point range. <\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, they did a good job showing bodies, making it tough,\u201d Mitchell said of the Raptors\u2019 defensive strategy. \u201cWe weren\u2019t able to get to the rim. Even when we tried, we missed some open looks. I\u2019m really proud of how we fought. You take this and you learn from it, move on and don\u2019t really hang your head on this one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evan Mobley, the other starter who played, chipped in with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in 31 lackadaisical minutes. Jaylon Tyson had 15 points and nine boards while Nae\u2019Qwan Tomlin finished with 14 off the bench. <\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t take him off the floor,\u201d Atkinson said of Tomlin, who is still on a two-way contract. \u201cHe can defend his position. He\u2019s got great energy. He\u2019s flying. I\u2019m just pinching myself because that guy\u2019s gonna help us. It feels like he\u2019s gonna help us win some big games. I feel like he really belongs.\u201d <\/p>\n
All 10 Cavaliers who suited up made at least one basket.<\/p>\n
Toronto\u2019s Brandon Ingram led all scorers with a season-high 37 points. Scottie Barnes stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, getting the better of his 2021 draft-night counterpart \u2014 Mobley \u2014 once again. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think Evan had the juice tonight,\u201d Atkinson admitted. \u201cJust some nights are like that. We\u2019ve been milking these guys. I knew coming into this game it was gonna be a tough one. Don, you could argue the same thing. He didn\u2019t have his normal energy, normal juice, normal legs. It happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prior to the season, the Cavs were projected as one of the top teams in the East, seen as a co-favorite alongside New York. Nearly a quarter of the way through, nothing has changed on that front. <\/p>\n
But it looks like they have company now. <\/p>\n
Up next<\/p>\n
The Cavs will have a few days off before traveling to Atlanta for a matchup against the Hawks on Friday night \u2014 the final Group Play game in the NBA Cup. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 The brooms were out Monday night. Playing the second game of a back-to-back and third in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-305201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}