The Raptors needed to win Game 2 to square matters with the Cavaliers. That didn’t happen. Instead, Cleveland’s LeBron James reminded the world of how remarkable a player he is.
In the first game of the Eastern Conference semi-finals, the Toronto Raptors beat themselves. Last night, they didn’t suffer that indignity – instead they were soundly defeated by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were led by an otherworldly performance from LeBron James.
When a player as dominant as King James is normally discovers another level, one is hard-pressed to figure out how to counter. LeBron in the second half was impossible to stop, making one jumper after another. Now and then, he’d mix things up and take the ball to the hoop or find an open teammate for an uncontested shot.

LeBron was the game. He sat down late in Q4 with the Cavaliers having built an unassailable lead, largely because of his 43 points and 14 assists. By comparison, the rest of the Cavs totalled 11 dimes.
Kevin Love was the grateful recipient of many James passes, and converted enough of them to do serious hurt with 31 points.
Ibaka didn’t show up – again
This being a Raptors site, I need to write about our guys, but it’s tough to muster the enthusiasm. Toronto enjoyed another solid start, as everyone save Serge Ibaka (who was dreadful all night) was having some offensive impact. Despite slippage near the end of Q2, which turned out to be a foreshadowing of impending doom, the Raptors clung to a 2-point lead at halftime.
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Kyle Lowry was making virtually every shot he tried. DeMar DeRozan picked his spots effectively, while Jonas Valanciunas chipped in when he actually got the ball.
However, the storm broke over the Raptors’ heads early in Q3. Ibaka fumbled away the ball with no one near him, and the Cavaliers began to rock. Toronto’s lead disappeared with shocking speed, never to reappear. Serge sat down after 1:43 of play with a minus_8 during that brief span.
The rest of the quarter, and much of the fourth, featured a non-stop series of LeBron fadeaways that hit nothing but net. He had 27 points in 19+ minutes before his ultra-cautious coach decided the Raptors weren’t likely to overcome a 20-point lead with 3:30 to play. In reality, most of Q4 was garbage time.
Wrapping up a miserable night
Fred VanVleet enjoyed a solid outing with 14 points, and was the only Raptor with a positive number, ending plus_2. JV didn’t play much of the decisive Q3, leaving C.J. Miles to contend with Kevin Love’s postups. That didn’t go well for our veteran gunner.
The Raptors have squandered home-court advantage, and now must win a game in hostile Cleveland to avoid being swept.
Putbacks: The Cavaliers committed just 3 turnovers…DeRozan hasn’t hit a 3-ball in his last 13 attempts…Cleveland took 23 free throws to Toronto’s 11