Irving silences Raptors from long range in win
TORONTO - - Kyrie Irving's team-high 26 points helped the Cleveland Cavaliers edge the Toronto Raptors 94-91 on Friday night at Air Canada Centre.
With the game tied 91-91, Irving dropped one of his five 3-pointers on the night helping the defending NBA champions remain undefeated (2-0) to start the season. The 24-year-old guard finished the night 10 of 23 from the field and 5-for-9 from beyond the arc.
LeBron James added 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while Kevin Love chipped win with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The game featured a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals where the Cavs defeated the Raptors in Game 6 in Toronto to advance to the NBA Finals.
DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with a game-high 32 points and seven rebounds while Kyle Lowry added 17 points and four assists as the Raptors (1-1) lost for the first time this season.
DeRozan's 32 points is the most scored by a Raptor through the first two games of a season since Vince Carter scored 65 points in the first two games of the 2003-04 season.
DeRozan got the 19,800 in attendance out of their seats throwing down a monster one-handed jam with less than a minute remaining tying the game 91-91; however, Irving quickly silenced the crowd dropping a 3 with 44.3 seconds remaining.
After Toronto closed to within five with 6:39 to go, Cleveland pulled away using a 7-2 run and held on to lead 71-67 after three.
The Raptors, who only had 11 turnovers in Wednesday's win over Detroit, had 12 turnovers at halftime against the Cavs. Cleveland took advantage scoring nine points off the Toronto turnovers and led 50-40 at half.
Irving led the defending champs with 15 points and four assist while Love added 13 points and nine rebounds. James entered recess with nine points.
Cleveland led by five, 28-23 after one period on the strength of eight points and five rebounds from Love. Tristan Thompson added six points.
DeRozan had a team-high eight on 4 of 6 shooting from the field while Lowry had eight points.
NOTES: The Raptors won three of four regular season meetings with the Cavaliers last season. ... Cleveland begins a three-game home stand on Saturday against the Orlando Magic. ... Toronto concludes its three-game home stand against the Denver Nuggets on Monday. ... Raptors C Lucas Nogueira missed his second straight game with a sprained left ankle. ... Cavaliers F Channing Frye and G Mo Williams did not make the trip to Toronto. Frye was granted an indefinite leave of absence by the team after his mother passed away following a long battle with cancer.