Cavaliers hit ludicrous speed, crush Raptors in Game 1
CLEVELAND — The Richard Jefferson power drive, that was the moment it crossed over from impressive to ridiculous.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were a little defiant over the last week as they insisted they were not just a 3-point shooting team. In fact, it might’ve been the quickest way to turn LeBron James into a grump over the eight-day break leading into the Eastern Conference Finals. Their record-setting long range shooting against the Atlanta Hawks, both in volume and accuracy, made it hard to buy.
So perhaps it was to send a message — or more likely it was because they could exploit the Raptors’ rim protection — but the Cavs turned Game 1 into a 115-85 rout with their relentless interior play.
With Toronto clearly concerned about defending the perimeter and the Cavs stretching the floor with their host of shooters, Cleveland put on a clinic in high-percentage offense. And it happened with the same vicious precision as its long-game takedown in the previous round.
Isolation drives, back cuts, transition, blow bys, lobs, putbacks. They just kept coming and coming, with the Cavs tying an NBA record by winning their 16th consecutive Eastern Conference playoff game. James, Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova … they all got into the attack.
The nadir for the Raptors came at the end of the Cavs’ 22-2 first-half run, when the 35-year-old Jefferson couldn’t help himself. He went to the rim and attempted to dunk on James Johnson as if it was 2004 again. Johnson fouled him, staving off the embarrassment of missing the dunk, but the gumption said it all.
James went 7-of-7 in the first half, the distance of the baskets averaging just 16 inches. Irving went 8-of-11. In all the Cavs made 20 of their first 27 shots and 17 of their first 21 attempts in the paint. The stretched out and fatigued Raptors were a step slow and a step out of position all evening.
When it was over, James had his most efficient shooting playoff game of his career, making 11 of 13 shots for 24 points. Irving settled for 11-of-17 and 27 points.
After the Cavs finally called off the assault, mounted through only three quarters, they’d shot 62 percent and scored 48 points in the paint.
