Raptors Pull Away in Fourth, 126-104

*** After dropping the first two games of the series, the Raptors broke out a secret weapon late on Thursday night – a player who’s missed just a single shot against Cleveland all season.

Little-used reserve Jamison Battle helped a hot-shooting Toronto squad notch its first win of the First Round matchup, using a huge fourth quarter to pull away for the 126-104 win at Scotiabank Arena.

After a third quarter in which neither team led by more than five points and featured six ties and three lead changes, the Raptors blew the contest open with a 43-point fourth, with the former Buckeye coming off the bench to drill all five field goal attempts – including four three-pointers – scoring 14 points in the period as the Raptors rode the wave to seal the Game 3 victory.

In three regular season matchups against the Cavaliers, the sophomore forward – who logged three minutes in Game 1 and didn’t play in Game 2 – went 8-for-8 against Cleveland this year, including an October 31 Raptors win in which he went 7-for-7 from the floor, drilling all six triples to tally 20 points in just 15 minutes off the bench on Thursday.

But Battle wasn’t the only second unit problem for the Wine & Gold on Thursday night. In fact, he wasn’t even Toronto’s top scorer off the bench. That was rookie Collin Murray-Boyles, who notched 22 points on 11-for-15 shooting while leading both teams with eight rebounds. Jamal Shead finished with just three points, but registered a game-high five steals. 

And as good as Toronto’s reserve duo was, it was their top two scorers in the series – Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett – who did the real damage on Thursday, netting 33 points apiece. 

Barnes went 11-for-17 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from long-range and 8-of-10 from the stripe, handing out a team-high 11 assists to go with five boards, a steal and a blocked shot. Barrett was 12-of-19, including 6-of-8 from deep, adding five boards, five assists, a pair of steals and a block. 

Game 3 was tied at 46-apiece at intermission and Toronto led by just a deuce after three, but Barrett hit all six shots he attempted in the fourth quarter, including all three three-pointers, as the Raptors shot 74 percent from the floor in the final period, going 8-of-9 from long-range to push the affair out of reach. 

“Give credit where credit’s due,” said Donovan Mitchell pitched in with 15 points, but was just 1-of-7 from three-point range. “We knew it was going to be a tough game, no team wants to go down, 3-0. We were right there for the majority of the game, and it got away in the fourth. But it’s things we can control. But give them credit for protecting homecourt.”

The Cavaliers, who’d forced 40 turnovers against Toronto through the first two games, committed 22 miscues of their own on Thursday.

James Harden led Cleveland with 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting, adding four boards and four assists, but also finished with eight of those 22 turnovers. Evan Mobley added 15 points and led the Cavs with seven assists, adding two steals and a block. Jarrett Allen added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, adding a pair of steals and a game-high three blocks, his second straight outing with three swats.

“(Toronto) did a heck of a job (on Harden),” said Coach Kenny Atkinson. “They made him work. You try to wear the best players out and they did a good job. Super-physical. I think they packed the paint, were willing to live with some other guys being open. I told the guys: we need to keep trusting the pass, keep trusting it. The plays we made in the first two games, making the simple pass, kicking out when the paint’s crowded. But give them credit, give their defense credit: I think they did a great job on both (Harden and Mitchell).”

Max Strus led Cleveland’s second unit with 15 points, going 4-of-8 from beyond the arc to go with six boards and three assists. Jaylon Tyson had his best outing of the series, going 3-of-6 from deep to finish with 13 points. 

Overall, the Raptors shot 58 percent from the floor, including 61 percent (14-of-23) from beyond the arc while netting 60 points in the paint. The Cavs shot 44 percent from the floor and 31 percent from long-range. 

*** After dropping Game 3 on Thursday night, the Cavaliers look to bounce back on Sunday afternoon in Toronto before the series shifts back to Cleveland on Wednesday night. If necessary, the First Round returns north of the border next Friday and, if it goes the distance, Game 7 goes down next Sunday at Rocket Arena.