The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the visiting Toronto Raptors, 115-84, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday.
LeBron James and company stayed unbeaten in the NBA Playoffs thus far, improving to 9-0 and storming out to a 22 point halftime lead, which held up through the remainder of the game, to take Game 1 on their home court. The Raptors were coming off their biggest win in franchise history, and the back-to-back seven game series looked like it took its toll on the team. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan were hounded by the Cavs guards and forwards throughout the whole game, and even when the backcourt duo got a clean look, they were unable to get into a rhythm, especially from behind the arc. Kyrie Irving continued to play his role as a scorer while the offense ran through LeBron James. J.R. Smith was running up and down the length of the court with impressive play on both ends of the floor as well.
James stuffed the stat sheet, and it only took 28 minutes of action, as he finished with 24 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block on 11-of-13 shooting, while Irving led all scorer with 27 points, to go along with two boards and five dimes. Kevin Love was the only other Cavaliers player to finish in double figures, as he added 14 points, but four bench players (Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson, Matthew Dellavedova and Channing Frye) all contributed 8-plus points. Irving barely eclipsed the 30 minute mark, which also led all Cavaliers players, but the starters sat throughout the fourth quarter.
Lowry and DeRozan seem to be the make or break factor for the Raptors to compete in the Playoffs, but only DeRozan was able to get into a shooting rhythm, while the rest of the team looked abused with the Cavaliers matchups. The Toronto shooting guard scored 18 points on 9-of-17 shooting, but Lowry finished with eight points, four boards and five assists on 4-of-14 shooting (0-of-7 from behind the arc). The Raptors were unable to find a scoring option off the bench either, save for James Johnson, who muscled his way to 10 points in 20 minutes of play. Toronto is still awaiting Jonas Valanciunas (ankle) return to the lineup, which might have to wait until Game 3 or 4 of the series, but his absence is proving vital to the Raptors chances.
The Raptors will look to even the series in Game 2 on Thursday.
