The Cavaliers(39-25) returned home on Sunday to face the Raptors(30-32), hoping to end a three-game losing streak.
For the first time in four matchups with Toronto this season, Cleveland defeated the Raptors 118-93 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to end their three game losing streak.
Cleveland led by as many as 30 points in their win over Toronto.
Here’s The Great, Not So Great, and the Bottom Line of the Cavs’ win over the Raptors.
The Great:
Donovan Mitchell scored 22 of his game-high 35 points in the first half. He was on fire as he shot 13/21 from the field, including 8/12 from deep. Mitchell also added six rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Darius Garland did a lot of swishing and dishing versus the Raptors. He had a double-double with 18 points, 11 assists, and a career-high two blocks; this was Garland’s 16th double-double of the season.
Jarrett Allen also had a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Allen leads the Cavs with 28 double-doubles this season.
Post-Mitchell Flagrant Foul: With just under seven minutes in the third, Mitchell was called for a flagrant foul on Jakob Poeltl . At that point, the Cavs led 76-66. Mitchell would score 10 of the team’s next 15 points as Cleveland went on a 15-5 run to take a 20-point lead, which was their largest lead in the third. That foul motivated Mitchell and the Cavs, and they never looked back.
Three-Point Shooting: Cleveland was raining threes on Sunday night. They were 18/36(50%) from deep.
Not So Great:
Bench: Cleveland got little from their bench. After three quarters, the Cavs only got two points from its bench; they finished with just 16 points off the bench, and the bench played most of the fourth.
Clearly, the Cavs are going to need more production from their bench.
Bottom Line:
Good to see the Cavs bounce back and get a win. They needed to get home, and they needed to get this win. Cleveland remains a dominant home team(26-7), which should serve them well come playoff time. Again, they must get more from the bench, but they’ll worry about that another night.
What’s Next:
The Cavs get back at it on Wednesday as they battle the Celtics in Boston.
Best of the Rest:
-Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 25 points and eight rebounds.
-Evan Mobley added 18 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
