Air Canada Centre hosts Toronto’s first ever Eastern Conference Finals game on Saturday night, when the Raptors, down 2-0, take on the white hot Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the series.
The Raptors find themselves on the ropes early on after two back-to-back routs at the hands of the Cavaliers, the latest taking place at Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday night, as the team was dismantled 108-89. DeMar DeRozan did the best he could against his opponents’ staunch defense, leading the team in scoring with 22 points and 5 assists, going 8 of 18 from the paint and 6 of 6 from the foul line. Kyle Lowry seemed to revert to the shooting woes that plagued him early in the postseason, putting up only 10 points in 33 minutes played and making only 1 of 8 shot attempts from beyond the arc.
Three Toronto reservists finished the night with 11 points each, in the form of James Johnson, Terrence Ross and Cory Joseph. The team combined to shoot a woeful 27.3% from long range as the series shifts north of the border for a must-win games for club on Saturday, for which injured center Jonas Valanciunas is listed as doubtful. Game 4 will also take place in Toronto on Monday night.
Cleveland has run roughshod through 10 consecutive games in the postseason, and find themselves halfway to securing another date at the Eastern Conference Finals, in what would be their third appearance in franchise history. Kyrie Irving led the charge for the team offensively, posting 26 points, 4 boards and 3 assists on a 12 of 22 shooting night from the field.
LeBron James contributed a triple-double on the strength of a 23-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist outing, missing both of his attempts from deep but logging a 9 of 17 stat line from the charity stripe. Kevin Love had 19 points, 5 boards and 3 assists in a match-up that saw the Cavs once again stray from the three-point shooting prowess they feasted on during their series sweeps over the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks, going a tepid 7 of 21 from downtown.
If the team manages another victory over Toronto on the weekend, they will join the august company of the 1988-89 and 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers, tied for the best start in NBA Playoffs history.
