The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors, 116-78, on Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena to take a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Likely a bit spooked by both their performance over the last two games, and the throttling suffered by the other postseason presumptive favorite down in Oklahoma City in their last pair of contests, the Cavaliers came out with impressive tunnel vision in Game 5. They ambushed the visiting Raptors right out of the gate, winning the first quarter by a margin of 37-19. The rout was on, as Cleveland took a massive 65-34 advantage into halftime, a lead that eventually ballooned to 100-60 by the end of the third period. A major difference Wednesday night was the return to prominence of Kevin Love, who'd shot 5-for-23 over the previous two games. Love exploded for a game-high 25 points, and supplemented the scoring with two assists, two rebounds, two blocks and a steal. As the final score would indicate, the Cavs outclassed Toronto in every offensive category. They shot 57.1 percent from the field while holding their guests to a 39.1 percent figure, and drained 47.6 percent of their three-point attempts while limiting the Raptors to a 17.6 percent success rate from beyond the arc. The domination continued down low, where they outrebounded Toronto by a 48-27 margin and outscored them in the paint, 46-32.
The Raptors were led by DeMar DeRozan, who compiled 14 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Kyle Lowry followed with 13 points, six assists, three rebounds and a steal. Bismack Biyombo was held in check, as he supplied a modest seven points, four rebounds and a block. DeMarre Carroll and Luis Scola, the other two members of the starting five, could only combine to supply 12 points. One bright spot for Toronto in the lopsided loss was Jonas Valanciunas' return, as he collected nine points and an assist in just over 18 minutes on the court to lead the second unit.
LeBron James was second to Love on Cleveland with a 23-point tally, which he complemented with eight assists, six rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. Kyrie Irving was next with 23 points, and he added three rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Tristan Thompson provided a near double-double with nine points, 10 boards, a steal and a block. Reggie Jefferson paced the reserves with 11 points, six rebounds and an assist in 20 minutes. With the comfortable margin of victory, the Cavs were able to give their first unit plenty of rest, as James' 31 minutes serving as the highest allotment of playing time among the starters.
The series returns to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto for Game 6 on Friday night, as the Raptors will try to stave off elimination.
