In their final preseason contest at The Q, the Cavaliers went with their regular starters – minus LeBron James – and after one quarter, it looked like Cleveland’s master over the Raptors on their home floor would continue.
But behind Kyle Lowry’s 17-point second quarter – part of a 40-point period for the Raptors – Toronto jumped out to a 69-50 edge at intermission and never looked back, pulling away for the 119-94 victory on Thursday night.
It wasn’t just Lowry that got under Cleveland’s skin on Thursday – although he did manage to lead everyone with 25 points in just 20 minutes of action. It was all three of Toronto’s point guards – including rookie Fred VanVleet – who gave the Wine and Gold problems.
In the first stanza, Lowry went 6-of-9 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from long-range, and 10-of-10 from the stripe. Cory Joseph came off Toronto’s bench to add 17 points of his own, going 7-of-10 from the field. And VanVleet, the former Wichita State standout, finished with eight points – going 3-of-5 from the floor; 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.
Match Highlights
“(Toronto) approached it like a regular season game,” said Coach Tyronn Lue. “I thought they played hard. Offensively, they were very sharp. Defensively, they were good outside of that first quarter when we got it going early. Their point guards hurt us tonight – all three of them. They played at a different pace and a different speed, and they approached it like a regular season game. We approached it like a preseason game.”
Kyrie Irving followed up with 13 points on 5-for-15 shooting, adding a game-high eight assists in the loss.
Tristan Thompson, who had been nursing a sore left foot through most of the preseason, saw his first action against his hometown team on Thursday. The sixth-year forward added eight points for the Cavaliers – going 2-of-3 from the field to go with three boards, two helpers, a steal and the team’s only blocked shot.
The Raptors outpaced the Wine and Gold across the board on Thursday night – shooting 58 percent from the floor, 44 percent from three-point range and 90 percent from the stripe. Toronto dominated Cleveland in the paint, 40-26, and on the break, 32-15.
The Cavaliers got a scare in the second quarter when Channing Frye came down awkwardly along the baseline in front of Cleveland’s bench midway through the second quarter and limped into the locker room. It was later announced that he suffered an ankle injury and the 11-year vet didn’t return to action in the second half.
The Wine and Gold travel for their final official road game of the preseason when they take on the Bulls on Friday night in Chicago. Coach Tyronn Lue stated that, like Monday night’s matchup in Atlanta, the Cavaliers will rest all of their starters and most of their rotation players as they continue to gear up for the home opener on October 25 at The Q.
0 comments:
Post a Comment