Raptors Rally Late to Even Series 2–2 With Game 4 Win

After a frustrating weekend north of the border, the Cavaliers now find themselves having to return home to regroup. 

On Thursday night, the Raptors used a 43-point fourth quarter to get their first win of the series. On Sunday afternoon, they closed the contest on a 17-5 run to stun the Wine & Gold late and even the First Round matchup at two games apiece with a 93-89 victory at Scotiabank Arena. 

After tying the game at 74-apiece on Donovan Mitchell’s three-pointer with 7:14 to play, the Cavaliers began pulling away – extending their led to eight with just under five minutes remaining in regulation. But the Raptors began to chip away from there, and RJ Barrett’s floater with under a minute to go got Toronto to within one, 87-86. 

That bucket would be the last field goal that the Raptors would record (or need) the rest of the way. 

On Cleveland’s next possession, the Cavs got whistled for an eight-second violation, and Scottie Barnes canned a pair of free throws after being fouled by Jarrett Allen to give Toronto the lead with 34.6 seconds to play. Mitchell missed a floater on the Cavs next possession and Barnes connected on another two free throws after a take foul by Dean Wade. 

With 10 seconds remaining, Mitchell missed a potentially game-tying triple, and Barrett was fouled after grabbing the rebound. Sam Merrill canned a long two-point basket to get Cleveland to within a deuce, 91-89, with 4.6 remaining. But Scottie Barned hit another pair of free throws to put Toronto up two possessions and essentially seal the deal. 

Despite the thrilling conclusion, Sunday’s contest was an ugly affair for both teams. The Cavs shot 37 percent from the floor, 25 percent (10-of-40) from beyond the arc. The Raptors were even worse offensively, connecting on 32 percent of their shots, going 4-for-30 from long-range. 

The difference was both the free throw disparity – with the Cavs going 15-of-23 from the stripe; Toronto, 27-of-36 – and the turnover battle – with the Cavs committing 18 turnovers that the Raptors converted into 17 points and Toronto, 12 miscues that Cleveland converted into seven points. 

Only three Cavaliers – and just two starters finished in double-figures – on Sunday. 

Donovan Mitchell went 6-of-24 from the field, including 4-of-12 from deep, and didn’t attempt a free throw until halfway through the fourth quarter. James Harden was 6-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the stripe. The 11-time All-Star led both teams with eight assists, but after committing eight miscues on Friday night, turned the ball over seven times on Sunday afternoon. 

“We’ve been great all year at home,” said Harden, when asked about returning home to Cleveland for Game 5. “We’ll have our crowd behind us and we’ll play better. We’ll watch film to see what other adjustments they made. Other than the fourth quarter of Game 3, where they just made shots and played well and we didn’t do anything, the seven quarters that we’ve been (in Toronto), we’ve played well. We’ve had leads and we’ve had opportunities.”

Jarrett Allen struggled offensively, going just 1-for-5 from the floor and 1-of-4 from the line, but he was outstanding on the boards – leading both teams with 15 rebounds, six off the offensive glass. Allen also blocked a pair of shots on Sunday and has eight swats over his last three games. 

Sam Merrill had his best offensive outing of the series, leading Cleveland’s second unit with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-7 from long-range. Jaylon Tyson added nine points on 3-of-6 shooting to go with five boards and Dennis Schroder finished with eight points and five boards of his own, adding a steal and a block in 13 minutes of work off the bench. 

“You’ve got to win in a variety of ways in the playoffs,” said Merrill. “The defense was obviously very, very good tonight. Sure would’ve loved to get some more rebounds, but we forced them into some tough shots and just couldn’t quite get the job done.” 

Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes led Toronto with 23 points apiece. Ingram continued to struggle from the floor, going 6-of-23 from deep, adding six boards and a pair of blocks. Barnes did most of his damage from the stripe, going 11-for-14, adding nine rebounds, a team-best six assists and three swats to lead both teams. RJ Barrett chipped in with 18 points and eight boards. 

Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles continued to torment the Cavs in the series, coming off the bench to double-up with 15 points and a team-high 10 rebounds, adding three assists and a pair of steals in 27 minutes of work. 

*** The First Round series now becomes a best-of-three, as the set shifts back to Cleveland for Game 5 on Wednesday night. On Friday night, Game 6 goes down back in Toronto, and if a Game 7 is necessary, these two will square off next Sunday at Rocket Arena.