Cavs Go Up 2–0
- The Cleveland Cavaliers took a 2–0 playoff lead over Toronto with back‑to‑back home wins, by 13 and 10 points. - Scores were 126–113 in Game 1 and 115–105 in Game 2, putting Cleveland ahead entering Game 3 on April 23. - Local injury reports flagged Immanuel Quickley and Thomas Bryant as Game 3 uncertainty, noted in ESPN and Beacon Journal coverage ([] []).
Cleveland heads to Toronto on Thursday with a 2-0 lead after beating the Raptors by 13 points in Game 1 and 10 points in Game 2. (nba.com) The Cavaliers won 126-113 on April 18 behind 32 points from Donovan Mitchell, 24 from Max Strus and 22 points with 10 assists from James Harden at Rocket Arena. Toronto played that opener without Immanuel Quickley, who was out with a mild right hamstring strain. (espn.com) Cleveland followed with a 115-105 win on April 20 as Mitchell scored 30, Harden added 28 and Evan Mobley finished with 25 points and eight rebounds. The NBA said the Cavaliers and Raptors are the East’s 4-5 first-round matchup, with Cleveland taking both home games before the series shifted north. (espn.com) (nba.com) Toronto finished the regular season 46-36 and Cleveland went 52-30, which gave the Cavaliers home court to open the series. The Raptors were back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022, while Cleveland entered as the East’s No. 4 seed. (espn.com) (usatoday.com) Game 2 turned on Cleveland’s stars and its defense. USA Today’s Cleveland coverage said the Cavaliers forced Toronto into a season-high 22 turnovers, while ESPN’s recap showed Mitchell, Harden and Mobley combining for 83 points. (usatoday.com) (espn.com) The matchup also carries some history. NBA.com noted Cleveland’s postseason success against Toronto has continued into this series, even after the LeBron James era that defined so many earlier meetings. (nba.com) Game 3 is set for Thursday, April 23, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Pre-game injury reports listed Quickley as questionable with a hamstring issue for the Raptors and Cavaliers center Thomas Bryant as questionable with a calf injury. (cantonrep.com) (usatoday.com) A Cleveland win Thursday would put the Cavaliers one game from the second round. A Toronto win would cut the series to 2-1 and give the Raptors another home game to try to even it. (nba.com)
