The Cavaliers overcame their first bout of adversity this postseason to deliver a brutal counter to the Raptors via a 116-78 Game 5 win on Wednesday night. Coming off back-to-back losses in Toronto that represented the first signs of vulnerability from the Cavs in weeks, the team responded by showing that lapse was momentary to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.
NBA playoff scores 2016: The Cavaliers throw Toronto a monster counterpunch
The Cavaliers have taken a 3-2 series lead after blowing out the Raptors in Game 5.
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
If the previous two games on the road were a reflection of Cleveland at its most vulnerable, then Game 5 was a reminder of how dangerous the team can be at its best. The Cavaliers neutralized the Raptors’ All-Star backcourt after getting torched the past couple contests, dominated the boards and recovered the hot shooting touch that had eluded them on the road.
After the first quarter, Cleveland was already up 37-19. By halftime, the Raptors were looking at their largest deficit in franchise history. Not a great time to have the worst first half since the team came into existence in 1995.
The Raptors have never trailed by 30 at the half, regular season or playoffs, in franchise history. They're down by 31 at half.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) May 26, 2016
The Cavaliers would push the lead up to 40 points by the end of the third quarter, then pull their starters and coast to victory. Toronto outscored Cleveland 18-16 in the fourth quarter, but that’s hardly even a moral victory considering it came with most of the primary players in this series sitting on the bench.
The Raptors continued to struggle guarding certain pick-and-roll combinations used regularly by Cleveland, such as when LeBron James is rolling to the basket with Channing Frye set up on the wing. The Cavaliers repeatedly used that pick-your-poison play earlier in the series, forcing Frye's defender to choose between guarding his man or protecting the rim. It was another successful play for the offense in Game 5.
The Cavaliers shot 57 percent from the field as a team, led by the resurgent effort of Kevin Love. The forward, who struggled badly in Games 3-4, led all scorers with 25 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Unlike in recent games where his shot hasn’t fallen and his engagement went with it, Love got into his groove early Wednesday night and stayed in it for the first three quarters.
The other two big names played well for Cleveland, too. James recorded 23 points, eight assists and six rebounds in 32 minutes. Kyrie Irving scored 23 on 9-of-17 shooting and put up three steals in just 27 minutes. When the Cavs can get over 70 points on better than 60 percent shooting from the Big Three, like they did in Game 5, then they're very difficult to beat.
7th time this season LeBron/Love/Irving have each scored 20+ points in a game.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 26, 2016
The Cavaliers are 6-0 this season when they all do so.
That’s especially true when the other stars are kept quiet. Lowry only had 13 points and six assists in 29 minutes, while DeRozan scored 14 on 2-of-8 shooting in 31 minutes. The two star guards combined for as many turnovers (seven) as field goals. Compared to Games 3 (52 points) and 4 (67 points), getting just 27 from these two was a major drop-off for Toronto.
Now the Raptors will try to push the series to Game 7 at home on Friday night. Toronto has played much better at Air Canada Centre this postseason with an 8-2 record, so maybe the team can tap into that to rebound from a rough loss in Cleveland like it did after falling behind 0-2 in this series. Otherwise, the Cavaliers may be getting ready to book their second straight trip to the NBA Finals.
1 other thing
Toronto’s backcourt needs more miracles
For all the talk of Bismack Biyombo's breakout, the sneaky usefulness of Patrick Patterson and the rugged defensive play of DeMarre Carroll, the Raptors are all about Lowry and DeRozan. And when those two cannot get it going, like we saw in Game 5, then this team pretty much grinds to a halt. Toronto doesn't have the firepower to keep up with Cleveland, and especially not when its top two players aren't producing efficiently.
One of the things that makes LeBron so special is his ability to make a substantial impact just about every single night. While obviously nobody was comparing Lowry or DeRozan directly to LeBron, Toronto similarly leans on those players to shoulder the load. As impressive as they’ve been at times in this series, the Raptors’ stars will need to dig deep and keep surpassing expectations if they’re going to push this series. When they’ve scored, Toronto has won. When Cleveland can stymie those two, the Raps are in trouble.
Play of the night
That’s a pretty, pretty pass, Mr. Love.
1 fun thing
Scores
Cavaliers 116, Raptors 78 (SB Nation recap | Fear The Sword recap | Raptors HQ recap)
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Bismack Biyombo should be your new favorite player
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