Cavs Pull Away in Fourth for the 125-120 Win

*** With the Eastern Conference First Round matchup down to a best-of-three, and with the Cavaliers trailing by three points headed into the fourth quarter, they turned to their defense to push Toronto to the edge – holding the Raptors to 17 points in the final period and pulling away for the 125-120 win on Wednesday night at Rocket Arena.

Behind Dennis Schroder’s final flurry on offense and a defense that held the Raptors to 25 percent shooting in the fourth quarter, including 2-of-12 from beyond the arc, the Wine and Gold used an 11-2 run midway through the period to give themselves just enough breathing room to take a 3-2 edge in the series, which shifts back across the border for Game 6 on Friday night. 

Schroder – playing in his 79^th career playoff game – was quiet through the first three contests in the series before starting to heat up on Sunday afternoon in Toronto. On Wednesday night, he got red-hot in the fourth quarter, leading both teams with 11 points off the bench, playing the entire period, going 5-of-8 from the floor, adding two assists as he carved up the Raptors’ defense off the dribble. 

On the night, the 13-year veteran – acquired from the Kings at the Deadline – led all reserves with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-6 from long-range. 

“I was just trying to be aggressive,” said Schroder after the win. “We were speaking at halftime, making sure that we play Cavs basketball. I think I just tried to come out and bring the energy and try as much as I can get to the W.”

Schroder wasn’t the Cavaliers only second half hero on the offensive end. Evan Mobley tallied 16 of his 23 points after the break, going 6-of-8 from the floor, canning all three triples he attempted, adding five boards and a block. On the night, Mobley went 8-for-13 from the field to go with nine rebounds, a steal and three swats. 

But the story of the second stanza on Wednesday night came on the defensive end for Cleveland. 

Toronto put together a 40-point second quarter and closed the first half on a 20-11 run and led by a touchdown, 74-67, at intermission – shooting 64 percent from the floor, 59 percent from three-point range. But that was as good as it would get for the Raptors offensively. 

In the second half, Cleveland shut down Toronto’s two top offensive weapons – RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes, holding the duo to 4-for-17 shooting over the final two periods. Barnes did hit a shot in six attempts in the fourth quarter. Brandon Ingram, the Raptors leading scorer during the regular season, left the game in the second quarter with a heel injury without scoring a point. 

The Cavs also closed off Toronto’s young guards – Ja’Kobe Walter and Jamal Shead – in the second half. Walter was 5-of-8 from deep in the first half and was held to 1-for-7 after the break. Shead, who was 4-of-5 from the floor, 2-of-3 from long-distance in the first half, went 3-of-10 and 2-of-7 respectively in the second half. 

The Raptors led throughout the third quarter in Game 5 and were up nine with two minutes to play in the period, but Cleveland closed on a 7-1 run, capped by Evan Mobley’s dunk with 2.8 to play. The Cavs tied the contest one minute into the fourth quarter on Jaylon Tyson’s three-pointer and took the lead less than a minute later on Mobley’s three-pointer. 

From there, the Wine and Gold didn’t trail again. 

James Harden joined Evan Mobley, finishing with 23 points of his own, going 7-for-13 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from long-range and 5-of-6 from the stripe, also grabbing nine rebounds to go with five assists, a pair of steals and a block. 

“It was just a collective effort,” said Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 19 points and five boards, going 7-for-17 from the floor, 3-of-5 from long-range. “You knew with this team that they were gonna come out with a little fire to them, especially after those two wins. The biggest thing was staying with it. The first half wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t pretty. But we’ve been here before. Just stay with it – started the third quarter off the right way. They respond, we respond. There were so many times where we could’ve just allowed it to affect us. But we stayed with it as a collective, and everybody did their job tonight.”

Jarrett Allen had a relatively quiet offensive night, going 4-of-5 from the floor for nine points, but he blocked three shots in the second half and has now rejected 11 Raptors offerings over the past four games. 

“We celebrated that in the locker room,” said Kenny Atkinson. “(Jarrett)’s an unsung hero. They were going at the rim hard, and he had some great blocks, especially there in the fourth quarter. He really stepped up.” 

Overall, the Cavs shot 53 percent from the floor and were 18-for-36 from long-range. In their three home games during the First Round battle, Cleveland is shooting .535 from the field at Rocket Arena, .435 from beyond the arc. The Raptors outdid Cleveland on the boards, 48-35, and on the break, 26-6, but the Cavaliers capitalized big on Toronto’s miscues – turning 15 turnovers into 28 points. 

RJ Barrett led both teams with 25 points and 12 boards and Scottie Barnes handed out a game-high 11 assists to go with 17 points in the loss. 

*** The First Round will be decided this weekend – whether it’s the Wine and Gold winning on Toronto’s home floor on Friday night or both teams squaring off for Game 7 on Sunday at Rocket Arena.