Cleveland Cavaliers 122 – Raptors 100: play 4 quarters

Jan 4, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives on Toronto Raptors center Bismack Biyombo (8) during the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 122-100. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives on Toronto Raptors center Bismack Biyombo (8) during the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 122-100. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Raptors weren’t getting offensive contributions from everyone, but the Cleveland Cavaliers were, and they pulled away in Q3 for a convincing victory.

The Toronto Raptors were punched in the gut on Sunday afternoon by a transcendent performance from Jimmy Butler, who scored 40 of Chicago’s 67 second-half points. The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t need individual heroics to take down the Raptors. Once again after the intermission, Toronto’s defense collapsed, this time allowing 64.

Sadly, the Raptors’ offense had been in lockstep with the Cavs’, and the game was tied at 64 early in Q3. The Raptors even had a chance to take the lead, but Jonas Valanciunas missed a jumper. A 3-ball by J.R. Smith (one of his eight) pushed Cleveland ahead, and the Raptors, though we didn’t know it yet, were done.

Bashing the Raptors for this defeat is somewhat out of line. The Cavs are potentially an NBA finalist again this season and have all their main men back in uniform. One of their recent returnees, Kyrie Irving, had a game-high 25 points and dished out 8 assists while committing one turnover. Their starting five all scored at least 14 points and totaled 97. The Raptors started James Johnson in place of DeMarre Carroll, whose health status is seriously troubling. Our lineup simply isn’t good enough.

What Cleveland can do which Toronto can’t is switch to small from big and not lose anything in the exchange. Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson are intimidating long defenders and rebounders, with the ability to score opportunistically. When they want to run and gun, Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavadova offer quality minutes without needing their numbers called on offense. When they are shuffling LeBron James, Kevin Love and a healthy Irving in and out, defending this team is most demanding.

Jan 4, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Patrick Patterson (54) moves against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) during the second quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Patrick Patterson (54) moves against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) during the second quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

The Raptors weren’t getting sufficient secondary scoring to force Cleveland away from their plan to bother our backcourt mercilessly. Although Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan combined for 42 points, they had to work overtime. Jonas Valanciunas and Luis Scola added 15 points, but were a step slow all night. Johnson had 2 baskets and no rebounds in 22+ minutes, so there’s a flubbed audition.

Patrick Patterson enjoyed his second straight positive game, making 6 of 8 shots, including 3 from beyond the arc. Terrence Ross had 3 steals, but no long balls. Floor spacing was a problem all night, as an excellent, underrated Cleveland defense allowed few open looks. By contrast, J.R. Smith’s long shots were frequently unchallenged; the Cavs have this ball-movement concept well in hand.

Bismack Biyombo definitely earned a hat tip. He actually made a shot away from the basket, and missed but one of five free throws. I think he’s getting some unfair whistles based on referees’ anticipation rather than what actually occurred, and there were a few of those last night.

Within just over 24 hours, the Raptors fell out of a tie for second in the Eastern Conference to fifth. They are only one loss away from Orlando, which sits ninth. Our team must find another gear late in games, because recently they have been sputtering. The road trip continues in Brooklyn, Washington and Philadelphia before hopping across the Atlantic to play Orlando. Toronto needs to split this 4-game chunk, or risk an even more precipitous tumble.