CLEVELAND, Ohio – It was a record night for the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Saturday. In the worst way imaginable.
When their Cavels played their first game at home, the Cavs cut their two-game winning streak by the short-handed Toronto Raptors, 135-115.
The Cavs allowed their first points ever in the first quarter, giving 47 to the Raptors who blew the nets and hit 17-of-20 (85%) off the field and 3-of-5 (60%) of the 3-point. It got worse. At the end of the first half, Cleveland set a franchise record of 87 points. Toronto shot 32-of-45 (71.1%) overall, including 13-of-20 (65%) from outside the arc. And the Raptors did not even have Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet or Pascal Siakam, their top three scorers.
Members of the front office have seen enough. None of them returned to their seats for the second half.
“We just had no grain,” Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff said. “I thought we’re letting them do what they want to do. They beat us one-on-one. We were not good at helping each other. It was a bunch of different things, but it started with the struggle and the toughness with which I did not start the game. ”
Before the third quarter began, as the Cavs stared at a 33-point deficit, the hype man in the arena gave a message of encouragement to the fans who came to see their beloved, striped team for the second time this month.
“Let’s forget about half,” Ahmaad Crump shouted. If only it were that simple.
Behind another strong third quarter, similar to Thursday night in Oklahoma City, with the defensive intensity shifting, the Cavs fought their fightback. They won those 12 minutes by 16 points, 29-13.
Despite their first-half struggles on both sides, the Cavs had the chance to reduce a one-time 38-point Raptors lead to 10 around the middle of the fourth quarter. After a forced turnover, Collin Sexton went ahead for a possible imposition. Instead, it was a Stanley Johnson chase block that caused a 10-2 blow in Toronto, pushing the lead back to 20 and ending hopes of an amazing comeback.
“When we look at our history, we need to work harder to deal with what we consider to be success. “We had a couple of games recently where we played well and won, and what we took for granted was who we needed to be to be able to play to win and be competitive,” Bickerstaff said. “And it was extremely “Disappointing to come forward and the way we played, to say the least. We did not give ourselves a chance.”
Toronto Swingman Gary Trent Jr. was the star of the evening. He scored a career-high 44 points on 17-of-19 from the field and 7-of-9 from the depths. Malachi Flynn, the rookie in the first round, added 20 points.
Cleveland is by Sexton, who scored 29 points. Darius Garland added 19 points and eight assists. Kevin Love finishes with 18 points.
With 2:51 left, Cleveland’s misery almost reached a crescendo. Garland ends up uncomfortably on Flynn’s foot under the basket and bends to the dressing room in pain. Garland was able to return to the banking area and watch the last seconds tap away at another loss. When the buzzer sounded, the young point guard walked to the middle court without limping to greet some of the birds of prey, including Trent.
That was the only good news on a horrible night.
Audience
Larry Nance Jr. and Jarrett Allen, who has been on the sidelines since the end of March, was able to join their teammates on the bench – a positive sign of their recovery. There’s a chance that Allen and Nance will return on Wednesday, when the Cavs leave for Charlotte.
Following
The Cavs host Sunday night for the New Orleans Pelicans. Tipoff is set for 19:00
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New Cavs face masks for sale: Here you can buy Cleveland Cavaliers-themed face masks for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($ 14.99) and a 3-pack ($ 24.99). All NBA proceeds are donated to charity.
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