The Canadian Press
Lori Ewing
CLEVELAND–Last night’s game was less than three minutes old when LeBron James threw down a monstrous alley-oop dunk, tossed spectacularly off the backboard by Kyrie Irving.
The showy play set the tone for the night–another Game 1 loss for the Toronto Raptors and another thrashing in Cleveland.
“Defensively I didn’t think we played with the physicality that we had to in this game,” said irked Raptors’ coach Dwane Casey.
“They were well-rested, they were moving, flying around almost like half-a-step quicker than us all night.”
James scored 35 points–and clearly was having fun doing so–to lift Cleveland to a 116-105 romp over Toronto in the opening game of their Eastern Conference semi-final showdown.
After drawing a foul on a missed lay-up, James playfully galloped over to the courtside waitress and grabbed a beer.
“I’m not a beer guy,” James grinned. “If she’d had red wine, I probably would’ve taken a sip.”
Kyle Lowry had 20 points and 11 assists while DeMar DeRozan finished with 19 points for the Raptors.
P.J. Tucker had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Serge Ibaka chipped in 15 points, and Norman Powell finished with 12 points.
Lowry said the game turned on Toronto’s defensive lapses.
“They get big spurts, and we fight back, and they do another big spurt,” noted Lowry.
“We’ve gotta find ways to limit the spurts.
“We know they’re going to be a high-flying team, up and down, shoot the ball well at home,” he added. “But we’ve got to find a way to not let them get going and get everyone involved, and getting the crowd involved.
“We’ve got to find ways to completely just slow it down, and not let them get out in transition,” Lowry stressed.
The ball flew around the Cavs, who had 26 assists on the night and headed into the fourth quarter with just four turnovers (they finished with 12).
“When the ball’s moving, guys are being aggressive, there’s no questions about the moves that guys are making, the shots that are being taken,” said Cavs’ point guard Kyrie Irving.
“We’re all just trusting one another, and the basketball gods end up being in our favour when we play like that,” he noted.
The loss dropped the Raptors to 1-12 in playoff series openers–their lone victory coming in the second round against Philadelphia back in 2001.
Asked how they can kick their opening-game curse, DeRozan replied: “That’s a great question.”
“It’s too late to happen now. We already got that foot in the hole,” he noted. “And that’s when we kick in and understand we fight well under adversity.
“We did it all year. That’s been our mantra,” added DeRozan.
“So it’s something that we’re going to have to exploit next game.”
In a game of wild runs, the Raptors trailed the Cavs by as few as two points late in the second quarter, and by as many as 25 points late in the third.
The Cavaliers led 96-74 to start the fourth quarter.
But the Raptors would come no closer than 16 points over the final 12 minutes. And when Channing Frye drove to the hoop for a dunk with two minutes to go, it put the Cavs up by 22 points and victorious Cleveland fans began to bolt for the exits.
Game 2 goes tomorrow night in Cleveland, then the series shifts to Toronto for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday.
