The Toronto Raptors fall to the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-102. Toronto is going to want to practice their free throws after this one.
Missed free throws essentially cost the Raptors this game. The Raptors got to the charity stripe 29 times. They had 23 more free throw attempts than the Cavaliers. However, the Raptors missed 9 free throws which ended up being the difference in this three point loss.
Aside from free throws, Max Strus was huge for the Cavaliers. He scored all of his 20 points in the third quarter. Strus scored as many points as the Raptors did combined in the third frame.
Darius Garland had 24 points and Tristian Thompson was big on the offensive glass. He had 4 offensive rebounds from off the bench.
The Cavaliers win this game despite Donovan Mitchell having an off night. He only scored 10 points on 4-17 shooting.
The Raptors played an exponential first half. Their defense held the Cavaliers to only 17 points in the second quarter. Toronto led by as many as 12 points and took a 10 point lead into the locker room.
Then the third quarter hit. Strus caught fire and overall the Raptors got outscored 32-20 in the frame. The Raptors defense did not come through in the second half especially in the fourth quarter. Scottie Barnes in particular was having a tough time guarding Garland.
The Raptors were led by Jakob Poeltl who had his best game of the season. Poeltl had a season-high 18 points and 13 rebounds. He was big in the fourth. Dennis Schroder also came up clutch down the stretch for the Raptors giving them a chance to tie it at the end. However, the play call drawn up by Darko Rajakovic was disastrous. Schroder held on to the ball as Gary Trent Jr. who was 1-7 from three, tried to get free. Trent Jr. finally got the ball but he stepped out of bounds. The Raptors didn’t even get a shot attempt up.
Barnes had another off game shooting as he scored 15 points on 5-14 from the field. Also Pascal Siakam had a subpar game. He finished with 18 points on 7-17 shooting. He was barely utilized in the fourth quarter.
This was a frustrating loss for the Raptors since the game was right there for the taking. They need to be able to beat teams like the Cavaliers if they want to find themselves in the playoff mix this season.
Next on tap
The Raptors will remain on the road as they travel to Brooklyn to take on the Nets.
This will be the Raptors final In-Season Tournament game. Toronto is eliminated so this will mean nothing for them in terms of tournament implications.
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