The Toronto Raptors came from behind to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-97 at home. Raptor’s All Star point guard, Kyle Lowry scored a career high 43 points to help drive a fourth quarter comeback.
Toronto, who is currently the second seed with a 39-14 record, has managed to narrow the gap for first place in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors are now only two games behind the 41-16 Cavaliers.
This win marks the fourth win in a row for the Raptors, and a franchise record tenth straight at home, as Toronto continues to close in on the first seeded Cavaliers, who have now lost two of their last three games.
The Comeback
The Cavaliers took an early lead that was maintained throughout the majority of the game. Cleveland ended the first quarter leading 31-21, and went into the half with a 49-45 lead. Cleveland then increased their lead to double digits, maintaining a 10+ point lead throughout the majority of the third quarter. The Raptors were able to close in at the end of the third and entered the fourth quarter down nine. With the help of Lowry’s late scoring onslaught (including a game winning jumper with less than four seconds left on the clock), and the lift provided by the fans at the Air Canada Centre, Toronto was able to come back and beat the Cavaliers for the second time this season.
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Key Players
The Raptors were led by Lowry’s 43 points, surpassing his previous career high of 41 points. Lowry was 15 for 20 from the field and added 11 free throws as well. Toronto also received help from big man, Jonas Valanciunas, who added 11 points. The Raptors got huge boost in bench contributions from Bismack Biyombo and Terrance Ross. Biyombo, who had 11 points in the game, provided an early lift off the bench keeping the Raptors locked with Cleveland who took an early lead. Ross steadily scored 15 points, providing a key injection in the second half of the game. With the help of Lowry and Ross, the Raptors were able to mount a strong fourth quarter comeback, outscoring the Cavaliers 31-20 and ultimately stealing the game.
Toronto was able to fight of the Cavaliers even though their other All Star, Demar DeRozan had one of his worst shooting games since his rookie year. DeRozan, who was said to have flu like symptoms, shot one for 11 from the field and was only able to add six points to the box score.
The Cavaliers received an early jump from their “Big 3” who helped maintain a lead throughout the first three quarters of the game. However, the team lost much of its momentum and gave up a double digit lead late. Kyrie Irving ended the game with only 10 points. Lebron James scored 25 points and Kevin Love added another 20. J.R. Smith provided a consistent effort throughout the game, dropping 13 points. Although four of the Cavaliers starters scored 10 or more points, they were unable to withstand Lowry’s late push.
This game marks the third and final time that these two teams will meet this season. Two of the meetings were played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The Raptors won both of their home games. Cleveland notched a win in the early January meeting that took place at the Quicken Loans Arena in Northeast Ohio.
The Cavaliers will travel to our nation's capital this Sunday for an afternoon match-up against the Washington Wizards.
The Raptors will aim to continue their win streak against against the Detroit Pistons this Sunday evening.