Cavaliers at Raptors
Everybody was writing off the Toronto Raptors after they lost the first
two games of the Eastern Conference finals by an average of 25 points.
Toronto countered with a superb Game 3 performance and aims to tie the
series at 2-2 when it hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.
The Raptors posted a 99-84 home victory over the Cavaliers on Saturday, when they limited Cleveland to 35.4 percent shooting from the field while center Bismack Biyombo was busy setting a franchise playoff record with 26 rebounds. "It's a long series," Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters afterward. "It's not over with yet, but everybody thought we were going to get swept. I think that fuels us and if that's what it takes, so be it." The Cavaliers won their first 10 games of the postseason before Saturday's mediocre showing and forward LeBron James attributed the result to a combination of Toronto's stellar play and his own club's shortcomings. "We didn't play our game, and they made us pay for it," James said at his postgame press conference. "It is a little adversity. Why not? It's the postseason, and you lose a game. This is our first loss of the postseason. I would count it as a little adversity."
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS: James scored 24 points in Game 3 but point guard Kyrie Irving (13 points on 3-of-19 shooting) and power forward Kevin Love (three points, 1-of-9) both had awful shooting nights. Love, who didn't play in the fourth quarter, is averaging just 12 points and 4.3 rebounds in the series and said the following to reporters: "I felt like I was a little passive. From a mentality standpoint, it's an easy fix." Irving averaged 26.5 points in the first two games before a woeful performance that included a 1-of-7 showing from 3-point range.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS: Biyombo has an increased role with starting center Jonas Valanciunas (ankle) sidelined and he averaged just 4.5 rebounds over the first two games before going on a board rage - including eight offensive - in Game 3. Biyombo set the tone by collecting 10 rebounds in the first quarter and had 16 at halftime as Toronto finished with a 54-40 rebounding edge. "I'm playing for my teammates, honestly, and for us it's just that we're going to play hard no matter what, and we're going to play our game," Biyombo told reporters after Game 3. "I've been saying that since we started the series, and our game is to protect the paint. And my job is to make sure that I protect the paint no matter what."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Raptors SG DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points in Game 3 and holds the franchise postseason record of seven career 30-point games.
2. Cleveland SG J.R. Smith made six 3-pointers in Game 3 - he twice has made seven this postseason.
3. Toronto PG Kyle Lowry had 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting on Saturday after averaging nine points on 8-of-28 shooting in the first two games.