Cavaliers win 125-120 Game 5

Cleveland finally got the kind of playoff win that changes the feeling of a series. Not a blowout. Not a clean, comfortable night. A mess(espn.com)ooks shaky for long stretches, and then your best answers show up late. That happened Wednesday, April 29, when the Cavaliers beat the Rap(espn.com)d series. (espn.com) ### Why did this gam(espn.com) being theoretical. Somebody has to grab it. Cleveland had lost Games 3 and 4 in Toronto, so the pressure was obvious — lose at home and the Raptors would head back north with a 3-2 lead and a closeout chance. Instead, the Cavs flipped that pressure back the other way. Game 6 is now Friday, May 1, in Toronto, and Cleveland needs one win instead of two. (espn.com) scored 74 points in the first half and looked comfortable for long stretches, but then the offense stalled out late. The Raptors scored only 17 in the final period, while Cleveland put up 25 and finally got the stops it had been missing. That is basically the whole game in one split — Toronto controlled the rhythm early, Cleveland owned the last 12 minutes. (espn.com) ### Who(espn.com)e the big momentum changers. Schroder scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, which is exactly the kind of bench scoring that can rescue a playoff game when the offense starts to tighten up. Mobley finished with 23 points and hit two huge 3-pointers in the final period. Those weren’t empty points — they changed the geometry of the comeback. (msn.com)s-to-take-3-2-series-lead/ar-AA223akc)) ### What about James Harden? He was Cleveland’s listed game leader on ESPN with 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists, and that matters because it shows how many places Cleveland got production from in a game that could have tilted away. But the late-game story was less about one star taking over and more about Cleveland getting enough from multiple creators and enough timely shot-making to survive. That balance is why the Cavs could absorb Toronto’s hot first half and still close. (espn.com) ### How good was Toronto, really? Good enough to make this uncomfortable again. RJ Barrett had 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists, and Toronto put Cleveland on its heels for much of the night. The Raptors also built two separate 12-point leads, so this was not some fake close game where the final score flatters the loser. Toronto had real control. The catch is that playoff games punish cold finishes more than hot starts. (espn.com 1)(espn.com 2)cleaned up enough of the self-inflicted stuff and made enough timely 3s. That sounds simple, but in a tight series it’s huge. The Cavs didn’t need a tactical revolution. They needed fewer wasted possessions, steadier late offense, and one stretch where the defense actually held. Game 5 gave them that stretch. (nba.com) ### What should you watch in Gam(espn.com)e fourth, and whether Cleveland can recreate this late-game shot profile on the road. Home-court had held through the first five games, but now the burden is on the Raptors. Cleveland doesn’t need to be perfect Friday — it just needs one more closing run like this one. (espn.com) ### Bottom line? Cleveland didn’t solve everyt(nba.com)o take control of a series. (espn.com)