Raptors at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers have yet to stumble in the postseason and aim for their sixth consecutive victory when they host the Toronto Raptors in Wednesday's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The defending champion Cavaliers jumped on the third-seeded Raptors from the outset of the series opener and rolled to a 116-105 victory.
Second-seeded Cleveland orchestrated a four-game sweep of the Indiana Pacers in the opening round and built a 12-point lead after one quarter while cruising past the Raptors on Monday. "I just liked our energy," Cavaliers forward LeBron James told reporters. "Our energy was very, very good and it sustained. That was a mystery with our eight-day layoff. For the most part, for 48 minutes we kept that level of intensity up." Cleveland knocked off the Raptors in last season's Eastern Conference finals when its four victories were by an average of 28.5 points and Toronto players know they need to prevent a landslide. "We've just got to play defense and not let them go up and down and do what they do, play defense for 48 minutes," Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry told reporters after Game 1. "We got to find ways to limit their spurts."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE RAPTORS: Toronto coach Dwane Casey bristled when it was suggested his team was dominated in Game 1 but the final margin of the contest didn't reflect Cleveland's supremacy. The Raptors trailed by 22 points after three quarters and cutting the deficit in half in a quarter in which the outcome was long decided left the impression on shooting guard DeMar DeRozan that the Game 2 effort needs to be substantially better. "We already got that foot in the hole and that's where we kick in and understand we fight well under adversity," DeRozan told reporters. "We have done it all year. That has been our mantra, so that's something we have to exploit next game."
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS: James contributed 35 points and 10 rebounds in the opener and needs just 25 points to pass Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (5,762 points) for second place on the all-time postseason scoring list. Point guard Kyrie Irving also stood out in the opener with 24 points and a career playoff-best 10 assists while setting the tone for the victory. "We wanted to come out, make a conscious effort to move the basketball as well as get out in transition, keep the pace up, make them play our game and go from there," Irving told reporters. "Coach (Tyronn Lue) was right. It could have gone either way, but I'm glad it went in the direction of us getting out in transition and getting some easy shots as well as moving the basketball."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. C Tristan Thompson collected 14 rebounds in Game 1 to raise his playoff average to 11.6 and he has reached double digits in all five of Cleveland's playoff games.
2. Lowry recorded 20 points and 11 assists in the opener for his second double-double of the playoffs.
3. James has 88 career 30-point outings in the postseason, matching Kobe Bryant for second place on the all-time list.