Raptors‑Cavs Game 2
- Cleveland and Toronto played another tight Game 2 in their first-round series Monday. - Full game highlights from April 20 show Cleveland imposing its half-court style. - Game 2 often reveals whether a series is tactical or talent-driven, and the clips spotlight matchup fixes. ( )
Cleveland took a 2-0 series lead Monday night by beating Toronto 115-105, and Game 2 looked even more like Cleveland’s game than the score did. (nba.com) The Cavaliers never trailed at Rocket Arena on April 20, led 26-19 after one quarter, and pushed the margin to 73-57 midway through the third before Toronto made one last run. Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, James Harden added 28, and Evan Mobley had 25 points and eight rebounds. (nba.com, espn.com) Toronto got 26 points from Scottie Barnes, a playoff career high, and 22 points with nine rebounds from RJ Barrett. The Raptors also improved one obvious problem from Game 1 by scoring 16 fast-break points after managing only three in the opener. (espn.com) The bigger problem was ball security. Toronto committed a season-high 22 turnovers, and Cleveland turned those into 22 points, which erased much of the Raptors’ edge in transition. (nba.com, espn.com) That is the shape of the series through two games: Cleveland has averaged 120.5 points, Toronto 109.0, and the Cavaliers have controlled the tempo after losing all three regular-season meetings. Cleveland won Game 1, 126-113, before backing it up with another double-digit win in Game 2. (nba.com, nba.com) The personnel shift matters, too. NBA.com noted Cleveland is 21-6 since acquiring Harden in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, and Game 2 showed the same split of duties as Game 1: Mitchell as the primary scorer, Harden as both scorer and organizer. (nba.com) The play-by-play shows how quickly Cleveland imposed itself. Jarrett Allen scored Cleveland’s first two baskets, Harden hit an early midrange jumper, and the Cavaliers opened the night on a 6-0 run before Toronto settled in. (basketball-reference.com) Toronto did find one counter in the second half. After falling behind by 16 in the third quarter, the Raptors answered with a 16-6 burst and cut the deficit to nine in the fourth on a Barnes layup. (espn.com) Cleveland’s answer was simple and immediate. Mitchell scored seven straight points after Barnes made it 99-90, and the Cavaliers closed out a game that never fully left their hands. (espn.com) The series now moves to Toronto for Game 3 on Thursday, April 23, with Cleveland up 2-0 and two straight games of evidence that its half-court attack is dictating the matchup. (nba.com, nba.com)
