Cavaliers pull out of skid, halt Raptors' six-game win streak
TORONTO –LeBron James scored 34 points, Kevin Love had 28 points and 14 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors 116-112 on Monday night to end a three-game losing streak.
Tristan Thompson also nabbed 14 rebounds and had six points for the Cavaliers (14-5), who ended a season-beat six-game winning streak by the Raptors (14-7).
The Cavaliers opened a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, but the Raptors cut the lead to four with two seconds left when Kyle Lowry hit three free throws.
Kyrie Irving added 24 points and Channing Frye had 10 off the bench for the Cavaliers.
DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 31 points and Lowry added 24 points and nine assists. Terrence Ross added 14 points off the bench and Patrick Patterson chipped in with 12 for Toronto.
The Cavaliers led by nine points entering the fourth quarter and the Raptors cut it to five.
The Cavaliers went on a run and when James hit a 3-pointer with 5:41 to play, they led by 15.
The Raptors came back and DeRozan's running layup trimmed the lead to 10 points with 4:04 to play.
Irving's 3-pointer got Cleveland's lead back to 12.
The Raptors pulled within five points on Lowry's layup with 35.3 seconds remaining.
The Raptors had possession with 12.9 seconds to play. DeRozan was ruled to have been out of bounds when he made a shot from 3-point range.
Cleveland has won all three games between the teams this season.
Love scored 13 points in the first quarter to help the Cavaliers to a 30-27 lead.
Cleveland's J.R. Smith limped off the court to the dressing room with 1:44 to play in the first quarter. He had two points. He did not return with what was described as a left knee injury.
Lowry also went to the dressing room during the first quarter after taking an elbow to the mouth and returned late in the first after having treatment.
The Raptors took a five-point lead midway through the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Patterson.
The Cavaliers led 62-61 at intermission after DeAndre Liggins made one of two free throws with 12.1 seconds left in the first half.
Love led all scorers in the first half with 20 points and added seven rebounds. Lowry paced Toronto with 16 points.
The Cavaliers scored the first six points of the third quarter, four by James, to take a 68-61 lead.
The Raptors trimmed the lead to three points before the Cavaliers came back to take a 10-point lead on a running layup by Love with 4:45 to play in the third quarter.
After a Lowry miss, Love's sixth 3-pointer of the game boosted Cleveland's lead to 85-72.
DeRozan scored four points before Patterson hit a 3-pointer to chop Cleveland's lead to six.
Two free throws by Irving had the lead back to nine and Cleveland had a 90-81 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Ross made a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter to cut Cleveland's lead to six. When Ross hit another 3-pointer, it reduced the lead to five.
After Patterson was called for an offensive foul, James scored on a layup and made the free throw to give Cleveland a 104-92 lead with 6:53 to play.
NOTES: Cleveland G/F Mike Dunleavy (concussion protocol) returned to the lineup after missing two games. He was injured in a loss to Milwaukee on Nov. 29. ... Toronto G DeMar DeRozan played in his 542nd game with the Raptors to tie Morris Peterson as the franchise leader. DeRozan has missed only 37 games in his eight seasons with Toronto. ... This was the third game between the teams this season. They do not play again until April 12 at Cleveland in final regular-season game. ...The Raptors finish their six-game homestand Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. ... The Cavaliers conclude a three-game road trip with a game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.