Cavs Fall to Raptors North of the Border

Facing any NBA team on the second night of a back-to-back on the road with seven rotational players on the shelf is a tough ask. Facing the Eastern Conference’s second-hottest squad proved to be too tall of an order, as the shorthanded Cavaliers fell, 110-99, on Monday night in Toronto. 

Despite being down so many key pieces, Cleveland stuck with the red-hot Raptors – who’ve now won eight straight and 12 of 13. 

The Cavs led after one quarter, but the Raptors took a three-point lead into the break. Toronto opened things after half, taking a two-touchdown lead late in the third quarter. But the Cavs clawed back from there, and Donovan Mitchell’s three-pointer with 4:37 to play got Cleveland to within four. 

Unfortunately, those would be the final points the gutsy Cavaliers would score, with the Raptors closing on a 7-0 run to sweep the season series after already taking the first two in Cleveland – and returning the favor after getting blanked last year. 

Mitchell, acting more as a facilitator, led four Cavaliers in double-figures with 17 points, going 6-for-20 from the floor, leading both teams with eight assists. 

Playing their first road game in a week-and-a-half, the Cavaliers were without Jarrett Allen (finger), Darius Garland (toe/management), De’Andre Hunter (rest), Sam Merrill (hand), Dean Wade (knee), Craig Porter Jr. (hamstring) and, of course, Max Strus, who’s still recovering from offseason foot surgery. 

Jaylon Tyson followed up with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-3 from long-range, adding a team-best nine boards, two assists, a steal and a block. Through 14 games, the sophomore from Cal is shooting .527 from the floor, .475 from deep – 6^th-best mark in the NBA. 

Evan Mobley chipped in with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, also going 2-of-3 from deep, adding five boards, four assists and a block. Larry Nance Jr., making his first start of the season, was the third starter to go 2-of-3 from beyond the arc – finishing with six points in the loss. 

The Cavaliers committed just 12 turnovers and canned 14 triples, but Toronto owned the boards, 51-37, and got a game-high effort from Brandon Ingram, who finished with 37 points. Scottie Barnes notched a double-double and Jakob Poeltl grabbed 13 rebounds to lead both teams. 

*** Nae’Qwan Tomlin continued his solid sophomore season, leading all reserves with 14 points, his third double-digit scoring effort this month, going 6-of-8 from the floor to go with four boards and a steal. 

Akron native, Chris Livingston, who Cleveland signed to a two-way deal on Nov. 4, made his Cavaliers debut on Monday night – finishing with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting, adding three rebounds and a steal. 

*** Earlier in the day, Donovan Mitchell was named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week, his sixth nod as a member of the Cavs. Over the week, leading Cleveland to a 3-1 mark, the six-time All-Star averaged 31.8ppg, 6.3rpg, 5.0apg and 1.3spg – shooting 57 percent from floor, including 43 percent from three-point range and 81 percent from the stripe.

*** After falling on Monday night, the Cavaliers get a well-earned break and don’t play again until Friday when they travel to face Atlanta in NBA Cup Group play. On Sunday evening, Cleveland welcomes the Celtics to town to wrap up the month of November and hit the road the following night to tip off December in Indiana. From there, it’s another three-game homestand – a Western Conference troika featuring the Blazers, Spurs and Warriors.