The Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, took the court Tuesday, May 1, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Toronto Raptors. Facing the stellar backcourt of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, the deepest and best bench in the NBA, on the road, against the top seeded Raptors, the Cavaliers rallied from down as many as 14 points to tie the game and force overtime, eventually winning 113-112.
LeBron James logged another record-setting playoff triple-double, 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists, giving him 21 such performances in his career, second only to Magic Johnson’s 30 career playoff triple-doubles.
The Cavs got help off the bench, Kyle Korver scored 19, Jeff Green 16, and Tristan Thompson chipped in 14 with 12 rebounds.
Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan power Raptors quick start
The star guard combo started their night as a combined 8/11. A Lowry layup at the 9:14 point of the first quarter opened a 10-4 lead and forced a timeout by the Cavaliers. Toronto led 17-10 halfway through the first quarter, the lead being cut to three at the 4:52 mark on a LeBron James layup.
A DeRozan bucket and continuation foul free throw followed by a Lowry three-pointer and 3-pointer made by Pascal Siakam opened a dozen point lead for the Raptors. Surprisingly, James would go to the bench at the 3:31 point of the opening quarter and wouldn’t return until the start of the second quarter with the Cavs down 33-19.
Lowry would finish with 18 points, DeRozan 22 points, and seven assists, while center Jonas Valanciunas would score 21 points and pull down 21 rebouThree-Pointers
Three-pointers draw Cavaliers close in first half
Maintaining a double-digit lead throughout the majority of the first half, a JR Smith three pointer would cut the Raptor lead to 7 at the 4:13 mark of the second quarter.
Jeff Green’s three pointer would cut the lead to six, 51-45, while a Kyle Korver three pointer would cut the Raptor lead to 1 with 27.9 seconds remaining in the first half. The Cavs would find themselves down 60-57 at half time after scoring 38 points in the second quarter with Kyle Lowry leading all scorers with 15.
Toronto rebuilds double digit lead
In the third quarter, the Raptors would extend their lead to 11 powered by baskets from Serge Ibaka, Valanciunas, and a Lowry three-pointer, opening a 72-61 lead at the 7:26 point of the quarter. A LeBron James alley oop dunk from Jeff Green would make the Raptors lead mine, and Kyle Korver’s three-pointer at the 3:28 mark of the third quarter would cut the Cavalier deficit to seven and force a Toronto time out. A Tristan Thompson tip in at the 1:56 point made the score 83-79, part of an 11-3 Cavalier run to cut the lead to four, and Toronto would lead 87-82 after three quarters of play.
Cavaliers start 4th quarter cold, force overtime
Cleveland started the fourth quarter 0-5 from the field while a Delon Wright three-pointer at 10:24 left in the game swelled the Raptors' lead to 10, 92-82.
Tristan Thompson’s field goal, the Cavs first basket of the quarter, followed by Kevin Love’s second basket of the game, drew the Cavs within six with a little over nine minutes left in regulation.
Toronto’s turnover with around six minutes to play, their 12th of the game, led to a JR Smith three-pointer, giving him 17 for the game, and giving Toronto just a two-point lead, 96-94. After a LeBron James three pointer cut the lead to one, DeMar DeRozan dazzled on an inbound play with 2.2 seconds left on the shot clock, his dribble drive and floating jump shot with 4:18 left in regulation gave Toronto a 102-99 lead.
After Valaciunas missed from point blank range no less than five times in two possessions and a sensational block by LeBron James, Cleveland would have three opportunities to take their first lead of the night and could not capitalize.
With both teams shooting a combined 0-10 over a span of three minutes, a questionable LeBron James foul on Serge Ibaka in three-point territory resulted in Ibaka making all three free throws with 1:42 to play and a 105-101 Raptor lead.
James tied the game with 30 seconds left, 105-105, and after more misses by Toronto from close in, including another by Valaciunas, who finished regulation with 21 points and 19 rebounds, James put up a shot to win but it fell short forcing the overtime period where Kyle Korver’s 3-pointer on the Cavs first overtime possession gave them their first lead of the night at 108-105.
JR Smith’s three-pointer with three minutes left put the Cavs up by four, while Tristan Thompson’s basket at the shot clock buzzer gave the Cavs their largest lead of the night, 113-107.
After a DeRozan three-point play, and the Cavs clinging to a one point lead, Ibaka would fumble a loose ball out of bounds, resulting in a fresh 24 second shot clock for Cleveland with 40 seconds remaining in the first overtime period. After Cleveland’s shot clock violation, Toronto had 16 seconds to win the game, but Toronto’s three-point try rattled out and the Cavs stole game 1, 113-112.
Game 2 will take place in Toronto on Thursday, May 3, 6 PM EST, broadcast on ESPN.
