Cavaliers at Raptors
The Cleveland Cavaliers are seeking their second consecutive sweep of the postseason when they visit the Toronto Raptors in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series on Sunday. The Cavaliers are 7-0 in this year's postseason after Friday's 115-94 win in Toronto and have won the first three games of this series by an average of 18 points.
Cleveland received much-needed rest after sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the opening round and will receive another break if it can close out the Raptors on Sunday. "For myself, I just focus on that game," Cavaliers forward LeBron James said after Game 3. I don't really think about the sweep, I don't think of anything but how can I as leader of the ballclub put our guys in a position to be successful." Toronto was outscored 36-17 in the fourth quarter of Game 3 when it needed a supreme 12 minutes to make it a series and will likely be without starting point guard Kyle Lowry (ankle) for the second consecutive contest. "I'm probably doubtful, honestly," Lowry told reporters on Saturday. "I don't think I'll be able to play. ... It's not looking great, but I'm not giving up on it."
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS: James has operated at will against the Raptors by averaging 36.3 points and shooting 60.4 percent from the field in the three victories. He has been superb overall in seven games this postseason with averages of 34.3 points, nine rebounds, 7.3 assists and 2.4 steals. "We just want to try to get better every game," James said after the victory. "We did that once again. We knew we were coming into a hostile environment. We knew they were going to give us everything they had no matter who was in the lineup and we just had to weather the storm."
ABOUT THE RAPTORS: Lowry averaged 20 points and eight assists in the first two games but injured his ankle in Game 2 and his Saturday comments paint him as highly unlikely to see the court on Sunday. Not having Lowry would be a burden under any circumstance but was magnified even more when backup Cory Joseph was unable to step up and had just four points (on 2-of-12 shooting) and six assists in 33 minutes. Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan registered a career playoff-best 37 points in Game 3 after he tallied just five points on 2-of-11 shooting in Game 2.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Cavaliers recorded a 49-25 rebounding edge in Game 3.
2. Toronto was just 2-of-18 from 3-point range on Friday and is 7-of-35 over the past two games.
3. Cleveland sharpshooter Kyle Korver enjoyed his best outing of the series in Game 3, making four 3-pointers and scoring 14 points.