Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett each scored 33 points and the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers, 126-104, in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series yesterday (Philippine time).
Reserve Jamison Battle scored all of his 14 points in the fourth quarter to ignite a Toronto surge that reduced Cleveland’s series lead to 2-1.
Barnes added 11 assists and five rebounds for the Raptors. Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles had 22 points and eight rebounds, while Brandon Ingram scored 12 points.
James Harden scored 18 points for the Cavaliers, who made 22 turnovers in a careless performance. Donovan Mitchell was held to 15 points, and Max Strus and Evan Mobley also scored 15 each. Jaylon Tyson put up 13 points, and Jarrett Allen contributed 12.
Toronto took a two-point lead into the fourth quarter. The game was tied for the 13th time when Mobley converted to free throws with 9:53 left. The Raptors went on a 13-4 run to grab a nine-point lead on Battle’s third three-pointer of the quarter with 7:25 to go.
The lead reached 11 on Barrett’s trey with 5:41 to play. Battle hit another three-pointer to bump the margin to 17 with 3:45 left.
The Raptors, who never had a lead in Game 2, were up 31-25 after one quarter of Game 3 as they took advantage of Cleveland’s nine turnovers.
The lead reached 10 in the first minute of the second quarter. Tyson’s corner trey with 7:58 to play capped a 9-0 Cleveland run that trimmed the margin to one, and Strus drained a three-pointer to give Cleveland a two-point lead with 52.2 seconds left. Murray-Boyles finished the first-half scoring with a dunk following a Barnes steal to tie the game at 54.
Toronto led by seven after Barnes made two free throws with 8:12 left in the third quarter. Harden immediately answered with six straight points. Strus nailed a three-pointer to give Cleveland a one-point lead with 3:09 left, but the Raptors regained the advantage on Murray-Boyles’ dunk. Barnes swished a 15-footer at the end of the third quarter to give Toronto an 83-81 edge. (Field Level Media / Reuters)