After winning the first two games of the series in blowout fashion, the Cleveland Cavaliers traveled to Canada on Friday night to face the Toronto Raptors at their Air Canada Centre. It was Game 3 of their second round playoff series with Cleveland winning its first two home games easily. Home crowd was hyped as they were hoping their team can repeat last year's scenario when the Raptors won Games 3 and 4 against Cleveland in Eastern Conference Finals. Cavaliers on the other hand wanted to extend their winning streak to seven straight wins this postseason.
Toronto was shorthanded in this one as they were playing without their All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry. Lowry suffered a sprained left ankle late in Game 2 and was unable to go on Friday night.
Huge fourth quarter lifts the Cavaliers past Toronto
Even without the services of their All-Star guard Kyle Lowry, the Raptors were playing good basketball early on in Game 3. Early in the first quarter they were up 8-7 before Cleveland went on a 11-4 run to take a 18-12 lead. The score was 28-24 for the away team after the first 12 minutes of the game. With Cleveland leading 41-35 midway through the second quarter, the Raptors went on a 8-2 run and tied the game at 43-43. Toronto would close out the first half on a 9-3 run and held a 52-49 lead at halftime.
It was a back-and-forth third quarter as teams traded baskets. Midway through the third the score was tied at 65-65. Heading into the final period of the game the Cavaliers had a 79-77 lead. It was in the fourth quarter when Cleveland pull away in this one. They outscored Toronto 36-17 in the final 12 minutes of the game and ended up winning the game comfortably 115-94.
The Cavaliers held the Raptors to 44 percent shooting on the night, including 38 percent in the fourth quarter. They also had a big rebounding advantage (49-25). Toronto connected on just 2 of their 18 three-point attempts. Their first "three" came with 3:09 left in the third quarter.
LeBron James leads the way again for the Cavs
Cleveland had four players scoring at least 14 points on Friday night. LeBron James led them with 35 points on 9-for-16 shooting. He was 15-for-16 from the free-throw line and also added eight rebounds and seven assists. LeBron has now won at least one road game in 28 consecutive playoff series. Kyrie Irving contributed with 16 points and five rebounds while Kyle Korver added 14 points off the bench.
After being held to just five points in Game 2, Toronto's leading scorer DeMar DeRozan scored 37 points in Game 3. He was 13-for-13 from the free-throw line and he added three assists as well. Jonas Valanciunas helped with 19 points and eight rebounds while Serge Ibaka added 12 points for the Raptors.
Cleveland is now just one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 4 of the series will be played on Sunday in Toronto.
