Cavs storm back in Game 4, but Raptors hold on for win
TORONTO — The Cleveland Cavaliers enjoyed one of their most devastating 12 minutes of offensive basketball in the second half Monday night and, considering their playoff run, that’s saying something. But it came after a long stretch of some of their most puzzling play in weeks, and that cost them a valuable playoff game.
The Toronto Raptors evened the Eastern Conference finals at 2-2 with a 105-99 victory after holding on in the face of a vicious Cavs late rally. Yet, as well as the Raptors played — stars Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan were just terrific with a combined 67 points, the most they’ve ever scored as teammates — it really came amid some head-scratching, game-plan adjustments by coach Tyronn Lue.
After spending the past few weeks finding a rhythm that has produced mostly spectacular results, Lue completely changed his rotations in the first half in what seemed like an overreaction from the Game 3 loss.
LeBron James’ minutes soared, the offense stagnated and the second-unit lineup that had fueled the Cavs’ dominance was oddly and inexplicably obliterated. It enabled the Raptors to sprint out to an 18-point lead and gain momentum in front of their crowd, which is exactly what the Cavs had to avoid.
But Lue and the Cavs seemingly fixed their issues in the locker room at halftime. They found their ball movement again, looking in the second half like the team that had won 10 postseason games in a row. Kyrie Irving found a groove in the third quarter, when he scored 12 of his 26 points. In all, the Cavs hit six 3-pointers in the quarter to chop down the lead to nine.
Then, Lue went to his standout second unit with James, Matthew Dellavedova, Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye. The Raptors couldn’t handle it, especially with Raptors center Bismack Biyombo being forced out of the paint to guard Frye on the perimeter. The Cavs scored on 14 consecutive possessions and ran versions of the same play, a James-Dellavedova pick-and-roll 10 straight times.
Kevin Love, who is now mired in a slump after shooting 4-of-14, sat in the fourth after tweaking his left ankle.
The Cavs’ fourth-quarter flurry was impressive, to say the least, but it occurred too late despite grabbing a two-point lead with just under five minutes left. James, who finished with 29 points and nine rebounds, clearly ran out of gas and was ineffective in the final minutes as the Cavs sputtered.
Lowry and DeRozan, with more energy, finished off the victory with several clutch plays as the Cavs’ dizzying push dried up.
