The Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA Finals by defeating the Toronto Raptors 113-87 in Gama 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday at Air Canada Center.
The Cavaliers were the prohibited favorite to win this series and they showed why in this clincher. Cleveland came out hot early, as they led by six after the first quarter and by 14 at half. The Cavaliers shot 54 percent from the field and 55 percent from three-point range, going 17-for-31. They held the Raptors to just 42 percent shooting from the field and 32 percent from long distance. The Cavaliers outscored the Raptors 27-13 in the fourth to cap off their victory. This marked Cleveland's first win in Toronto this season and they will now head to the NBA Finals for the second-straight season.
Cleveland was expected to reach the Finals at the beginning of the season and didn’t disappoint one bit. The big three for Cleveland were all huge in this win, as they combined for 83 points and all scored at least 20. LeBron James led the team with 33 points, while also providing 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. Kyrie Irving tallied 30 points and nine assists of his own. Kevin Love contributed 20 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in the victory. The only other player in double figures was J.R. Smith, as he scored 15 points. Cleveland will either host the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Finals or travel to Oakland to play the Golden State Warriors in a rematch of last years Finals for their next game.
This loss was disappointing for Toronto, but it was one of their finest seasons in their history. Kyle Lowry led the team with 35 points in this loss, while scoring 21 in the second half. DeMar DeRozan finished with 20 points of his own, but those two got very little help from anyone else. In fact, the other three starters combined for just 11 points, with no other player on the team reaching double-digits in scoring. The Raptors finished with a franchise-best 56 wins and finished second in the Eastern Conference for the first time in their history.
