2015 NBA scores: Raptors cap ‘Drake Night’ with win over Cavaliers

A Toronto win on “Drake Night,” the latest misstep for Philadelphia and everything else from Wednesday night in the NBA.

by Satchel Price

Nov 26, 2015, 2:00 PM UTC

Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Raptors channeled the power of "Drake Night" to roll to a 103-99 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. Kyle Lowry scored a game-high 27 points and DeMar DeRozan added 20 in the Raptors' third straight win, which came amid constant reminders of the hip hop star who was sitting courtside with his mother watching the game.

The night began in entertaining fashion with Drake announcing the starting lineup and the Cavaliers taking the court for tip-off while the cheerleaders were still dancing. It’s clear Cleveland came out thinking all business Wednesday night despite the festivities:

The Raptors also came out ready to play. Toronto shot 51 percent from the floor and 44 percent from three in the game, which help to offset a 12-of-22 effort from the free throw line. Lowry (11-of-17 shooting), Luis Scola (7-of-11) and Bismack Biyombo (4-of-5) led the efficient effort. All five starters reached double figures in scoring for the team.

Much of that dominance came in the paint, where the Raptors outscored the Cavaliers, 52-28. Only two players on Cleveland — LeBron James and Kevin Love — even got to the free throw line. The Cavs clearly missed Kyrie Irving's ability to penetrate the defense and attack the rim as LeBron was really the only one able to effectively pressure the defense around the basket during the game. Cleveland actually shot well from three and on free throws in the game, but it ultimately didn't matter because the Raptors had such a large advantage on easy baskets up close.

James scored 24 points and shot 6-of-16 from the field. Kevin Love was also productive with 21 points and 13 rebounds. J.R. Smith and Mo Williams each added 15 points. It wasn't enough on a shaky defensive night, however, especially with so much of the team's production coming from the perimeter. Even as the three-pointer takes over the NBA, it's still hard to beat your opponent if you're getting absolutely crushed in the post unless you have a similar or greater advantage elsewhere.

The Raptors have now won three straight games after taking down the Clippers and Lakers on the road over the weekend. Things are still very crowded in the Eastern Conference, where the first-place Cavaliers (11-4) are just two games ahead of the seventh-place Hawks (10-7) and 3.5 games ahead of the 11th-place Wizards (6-6). The Raptors are tied for third with the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat.

3 things we learned

The Pistons are great when the system works

Detroit is one of the toughest teams to grasp in the NBA. When the Pistons are on, they look like they could be East contenders. Then they'll stumble badly for a couple games and you wonder just where this team will ultimately settle in. On Wednesday, the good Pistons showed up and pummeled the Heat, 104-81, to improve their record to 8-7. It was the usual stuff we see when Detroit plays well, from Andre Drummond dominating down low to the scorching three-point shooting.

Miami might be rounding into one of the league’s better defensive teams, but it didn’t have any answers for Stan Van Gundy’s team. Drummond put up 18 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks. The team shot 16-of-31 from deep. It’s not easy to get 104 points with just seven free throw attempts, but the Pistons grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and kept forcing the issue. It’s the kind of game that makes you think the Pistons could do some damage one day. They just need to sustain it for a while to make real believers.

The Jazz are good, the Clippers are shallow

Utah rolled in an impressive 102-91 win over LA on Wednesday night to snap a two-game winning streak and get back to .500. However, the most notable part of the game might've been how little help Blake Griffin and Chris Paul got. Griffin led all scorers with 40 points on 18-of-23 shooting. Paul added 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Their teammates, meanwhile, shot 10-of-37 and scored just 27 points.

The Jazz deserve credit for making sure nobody else beat them. They let CP3 and Griffin get their own and the Clippers’ offense in general never really got going. However, from Los Angeles’ perspective, this continues an ongoing theme of the team’s role players not doing enough. You just can’t have two guys scoring 70 percent of your points.

The Sixers may never win a game

Philadelphia keeps coming so close, but it's now 0-16 after a 84-80 loss to Boston on Wednesday night. This one might have been the most agonizing yet, too. The 76ers led most of the second half and took a 77-66 advantage after Hollis Thompson made a layup with just over six minutes remaining. From there, the Celtics would go on a 18-3 run — including the final nine points of the game — to turn Philadelphia's first victory into its latest disappointment.

At this point, the 76ers just can't seem to get a favor from the basketball gods. The team's stats over the final six minutes of the game are almost laughable: 1-of-8 shooting with six turnovers. Obviously Philly will get a victory eventually, but that's not much consolation for a team that's been at the bottom of the standings for several years now. At least Jahlil Okafor had another productive game with 19 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.

Play of the night

Oh, poor Rudy Gobert. The 7’1 center probably never should’ve been guarding someone over a foot shorter than him, but that’s where he found himself in the second quarter Wednesday. Gobert digs in and gives his best effort, but Paul shakes him with a nifty move then hits the wide open jumper. Then again, Utah came out on top in the end, so Gobert ultimately got the last laugh.