Even after sweeping the Pacers out of the First Round, there was still some concern about the Cavaliers’ propensity to let large leads slip away.
That was never an issue on Monday night.
Kyle Lowry drained a three-pointer to open the scoring on Monday night, and that 3-0 lead was as good as it’d get for Toronto – with the Wine and Gold taking a double-digit lead after one quarter and barely looking back the rest of the way, taking the 116-105 decision in Game 1 at The Q.
After beating the Raptors by an average of 28.5 points in their four victories in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers – who also took three of four against Toronto in the regular season – led by as many as 25 before both coaches emptied their bench in the game’s closing moments.
”When Toronto came back and made that surge in the second quarter, we kept our composure,” praised Coach Tyronn Lue. “We brought our starters back (in the game) and were able to get the lead up to 14 at halftime. We had it up to 22 again but they made another push and we just stayed the course. Confidence never wavered. This is what the playoffs are about.”
The Raptors came into Game 1 having finished off a tough six-game series with Milwaukee last Thursday night; the Cavaliers were rested and ready, having an eight-day break after eliminating Indiana last Sunday afternoon.
LeBron James led all scorers with 35 points – going 13-for-23 from the floor, including 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, to go with 10 boards, four helpers, a steal and a blocked shot.
Kyrie Irving topped the 20-point mark for the 22nd time in his last 26 Playoff games – following up with 24 points on 7-for-16 shooting, including 3-of-8 from long-distance and 7-of-9 from the stripe, adding a postseason career-high and team-best 10 assists and a pair of steals.
”I’m just going to go out there and be myself, whether I have zero assists or 10 assists,” said Irving. “Just be aggressive on both ends of the floor and do whatever it takes for my team to win and help my team to win.”
Kevin Love added 18 points on 5-for-13 shooting, adding nine boards, a pair of steals and a blocked shot.
And Tristan Thompson doubled-up for the first time this postseason – 13th time in his career – finishing with 11 boards, a game-high 14 rebounds and pair of steals.
The Cavaliers won their eighth straight Playoff game and improved to 29-4 against the Eastern Conference – including a 16-1 mark at The Q – over the past three postseasons. With their loss on Monday night, the Raptors fell to 1-12 all-time in Game 1’s – with their lone victory in a series opener coming in the East Semis against Philadelphia back in 2001.
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