By Tennie Sumague
EBC New York Bureau
CLEVELAND (Eagle News) — With the NBA regular season winding down, the best teams in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers faced off as the Raptors hope to close the season with the top seed, a first in franchise history while LeBron and the Cavs hope to finish the season winning their fourth straight Central Division title.
LeBron James was unstoppable, scoring 15 of his 27 points in the second half and Jose Calderon contributed to a season-high 19 points as the Cavs cruised to a 112-106 win over the Raptors on Tuesday. The win was their seventh straight victory at Quicken Loans Arena.
“They’re a team that has been very good for a long time – well coached and has the personnel,” said Kevin Love on the Raptors. “Any time you play them, you know you’re going to get their best shot. Tonight was one of those nights where we had to sustain for 48 minutes and not let up.”
Cavs dominated behind the three-point arc to build a 16-point lead in the second quarter before the Raptors went on a run to cut the Cavs lead to 60-52 at halftime. The Cavs continued the momentum, going up eight, 86-78 entering the fourth and never trailed due to the dominance of James in the second half. The Cavs connected on 13 three-pointers the entire night.
James added 10 rebounds for his 49th double-double of the season and Kevin Love recorded his 31st double-double of the season with 18 points, including 4-6 from the three-point arc and 15 rebounds. All five Cavs starters scored in double figures.
“We just want to try to get better,” said James. “We want to try to continue to get better and become whole at some point. We’re missing one of our key guys in George Hill, and obviously we’re missing one of our key coaches named Coach [Tyronn] Lue. So that’s our mindset. We just want to continue to play well, and I think we’ve done that over the last couple of weeks.”
The Cavs continue to dominate against the Raptors, who hold a 10-1 record at home, including playoff games. The Cavs defense held All-Star guard, Kyle Lowry to five points for the night.
Toronto guard, DeMar DeRozan contributed to a team-high 19 points for the Raptors, who struggled to maintain their rhythm on offense and defense.
“We have to play together. Be on the same page, communication,” said Lowry. “Follow the game plan more in detail and continue to get better. We got a week left and we just got to get better.
The Raptors will play at home on Wednesday as they face their Atlantic Division rivals, the Boston Celtics. The Cavs will travel to Philadelphia to face the red-hot Sixers, who won their 11th straight game against the Brooklyn Nets.
(Eagle News Service)
