Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Andrea Bargnani scored a game-high 28 points and Chris Bosh contributed 21 points and 16 rebounds, as the Toronto Raptors began their season with a 101-91 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cavaliers Fall To 0-2 After Loss 101-91 Loss To Raptors
Hedo Turkoglu, brought in during the offseason, notched 12 points and seven rebounds in his debut with the Raptors, who stumbled to a 33-49 record last year and a fourth-place finish in the Atlantic Division.
Marco Belinelli came off the bench and scored 10 for Toronto, helping snap a five-game losing streak to the defending Central Division champs.
LeBron James notched his 25th career triple-double with 23 points, 12 assists and 11 boards for Cleveland, which also dropped a 95-89 decision to the Celtics in its season-opener on Tuesday. The Cavs did not drop back-to-back games last season until February.
Mo Williams ended with 16 points, and Shaquille O’Neal recorded 12 points and seven boards for the Cavs, who shot 34.9 percent from the floor.
“[Defense is] what we’ve been working on in training camp and that’s what we’ve been talking about all the time,” Bosh said. “Being at home, the crowd was an unbelievable factor...This is just one game. We have a lot of basketball to play.”
A small lineup sparked the Cavs after a lifeless first half. Williams capped a 13-2 spurt with a three-pointer and a running layup, the latter coming with just under five minutes left to cut Cleveland’s deficit to 67-62.
The visitors pulled even several minutes later, but Toronto scored the final five of the frame with Turkoglu’s layup making it 78-71.
The hosts fed off the Air Canada Centre crowd in the fourth. Bargnani hit an early three and Bosh’s layup made it 87-74 with under nine minutes remaining.
The margin stayed in double digits until James hit a free throw and one from behind the arc to get within 96-90 with 1:37 to play.
Jarrett Jack hit 1-of-2 from the free throw line for Toronto, and James missed a big three and the Cavs couldn’t pull off the comeback.
Bargnani scored 13 of his 21 first-half points in the opening stanza to pace Toronto to a 27-22 lead after 12 minutes.
The Raptors embarked on a 16-2 run late in the second to further their lead. James hit a free throw and a layup in the final minute of the half, but the Cavs were still staring at a 57-39 deficit at the break.
"That's the second game in a row we've been outshot in the second quarter. We have to do a better job offensively," Cavs head coach Mike Brown said. "Defensively we have to be better. There has to be a better effort."
Rookie DeMar DeRozan scored eight points for the Raptors, who hit 45.3 percent from the floor...Anthony Parker and Daniel Gibson each scored 12 points for the Cavs...Cleveland next plays at Minnesota on Friday, the same day the Raptors travel to Memphis to battle the Grizzlies.
-- Recap via The Sports Network
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