Cavs Destroy Raptors and Take Game 1
It was the 17th of May and it was the beginning of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers were coming off of nine days of rest to host the Toronto Raptors, who had just one day of rest. They defeated the Miami Heat in a hard fought seven game series.
Meanwhile, the Cavs remain undefeated and coasted through the playoffs so far. Halfway to 16, the magic number. The Cavaliers were hungry for more and they proved it that night as they put a whooping on the Raptors.
At first, the Cavs looked rusty, missing shots and turning the ball over. They fell into a quick seven point hole, but bounced back to tie and later take the lead. Cleveland then went on to outscore Toronto 33-16 in the second quarter to build a 22-point advantage at halftime.
The massacre continued into the third quarter and Cleveland’s reserves played majority of the fourth. The Cavs went on to win 115-84, marking the franchise’s largest postseason victory by 31 points.
Although this was an incredible accomplishment as is, it was how the Cavs achieved this feat that made the win so special. Just about half (56) of Cleveland’s points came in the paint. This was a completely different type of victory than what we witnessed in the previous series as they set all kinds of three point records in the process. Toronto over-compensated for the three point line and Cleveland took advantage of the open lanes to the rim.
This attack was led by LeBron James, who had a near perfect night going 11 for 13 from the field. He missed his lone three point shot, but it didn’t matter because he was so effective at the rim. LeBron was driving through the lanes with ease like a mad man and finished the game with 24 points.
Ultimately, it was a complete team win with Kyrie Irving leading the way with 27 points. Kevin Love added 14 and Tristan Thompson and JR Smith combined for 11. Heck, the bench kept it rolling with 39 combined.
This triumph marked the first time a team has started the playoffs 9-0 since the San Antonio Spurs did it back in 2012. Seven more wins until Cleveland reaches 16.
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