The Toronto Raptors did their best to keep it close, but ultimately the Cleveland Cavaliers came up big to take a 3-0 series lead over Toronto.
LeBron James led his team with 35 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. Kyrie and Love both contributed 16 and Kyle Korver had 14 off the bench. DeMar DeRozan had 37 points in the loss.
Bench depth
The bench is what killed Toronto for this game. The game was fairly even heading into the fourth quarter, and while Dwane Casey tried to give DeMar DeRozan a rest, but the bench completely dominated on the Cavs side.
The Cavaliers outscored the Raptors 30 to 9 in bench points. This discrepancy was huge in this game. DeMar kept them in the game but by the time he came back in the Raptors had no flow to their offense, poor decision-making, and the Cavs went on a 20 to 3 run in that beginning of the fourth quarter. Toronto was outscored 36 to 17 in the fourth quarter.
LeBron James
At the end of the day, this series is about one thing and one thing only. No one in Toronto can guard LeBron James. LeBron has been so good in these playoffs and especially against the Raptors. The Raptors desperately need a wing who's up to the challenge. At this point, a sweep may be evident. Toronto had their best chance at taking a game in game 3 but it couldn't be done.
Cleveland's ability to trust their bench has become a real strong suit for them. They keep adding small pieces here and there and it's been helping ball movement. Kyle Korver came up big in this game and Deron Williams helped dictate the tempo.
This addition of Deron Williams has been sneaky good. First off, he gives Kyrie Irving a break.
If Kyrie can come out while LeBron is still in, and then go in when LeBron leaves, it helps a lot because you always have a deadly scorer on the floor. Deron has done a great job of keeping a flow to the offense, and at the end of they day, he can score the basketball. He may not score a lot but even getting that 4 or 5 point stretch when guys are resting it is huge every night.
The Raptors have their backs against the wall now. Can they step up on the defensive end of the floor and slow down LeBron James? LeBron is the key to all of this, and a huge reason as to why the Pacers could keep up with Cleveland.
The crucial game four will be on Sunday at 3:30 PM EST on ABC. LeBron mentioned after the game that it's not really about sweeping but it is about playing solid basketball and just advancing. This is especially true for Cleveland because they've proven how good they are when rested.
