Winners and Losers: Cavs vs Raptors Game 6

TORONTO, CANADA - MAY 01: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts from the court against the Toronto Raptors during the third quarter in Game Six of the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 01, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: Us

Summarized by AI ⓘ

Basketball Zone

SEE ALL

Trendline

Hawks' Asa Newell Struggles in Playoff Appearance Against Knicks

Trendline

Cade Cunningham Leads Pistons to Victory in Game 6 Against Magic

Trendline

Paige Bueckers Impresses with Performance and Fan Engagement in Wings' Preseason Win

What is the story about?

The Cleveland Cavaliers blew a chance at ending the series. Now they’ll face the Toronto Raptors for a Game 7 in Cleveland.

Let’s go over today’s winners and losers.

LOSER – Single Rims

I’ve seen enough. The NBA should invest in double rims, preferably ones that cause shots to rattle out more often.

Please, I’m begging you.

LOSER – Late Game Turnovers

Jokes aside, the Cavs had a golden opportunity to end the series. A one-point lead with the shot clock off and the ball in their hands.

They turned it over.

I understand having Dennis Schroder on the floor.

He’s your slipperiest player who can dash into the backcourt and guarantee the ball is put into play. From there, however, problems emerge.

Let’s maybe use one of your timeouts before trying a jump pass? Especially when tossing a grenade to your team’s worst free-throw shooter (who also happens to be straddling the sideline and is smothered by an elite defender).

It’s not Schroder’s fault that Mobley lost the ball. But the process was questionable, and the results speak for themselves.

Worse, this isn’t even the first time the Cavs turned it over in a similar position. In Game 4, they choked away a late lead after Donovan Mitchell was forced into an eight-second violation.

LOSER – The Backcourt (for three quarters)

This has been the story of the series. The Cavs’ backcourt, to varying degrees, has thrown a 2-0 lead down the drain with some truly abysmal road performances.

We’ll start with the less egregious offender.

If you could magically remove the possessions where James Harden threw the ball straight to a Raptors defender, then I wouldn’t have many complaints. Hell, even cutting that number in half would be pretty sweet. But even with Harden raising the floor by keeping the offense alive in the non-Mitchell minutes, his erradic turnovers have led directly to Toronto’s fastbreaks, which have broken Cleveland’s back.

The Raptors had 25 points off turnovers tonight. Harden finished with 4 turnovers.

That pales in comparison to Donovan Mitchell. Who, by all accounts, has been awful since Game 2.

You can afford to have your best player struggle in the playoffs. That’s bound to happen for at least a game or two. But four out of six? That’s downright diabolical. That’s the stuff that causes you to rethink the future of your entire franchise.

Mitchell was once again out of sorts. Totally thrown out of whack by the Raptors’ swarming defense. He shot 2-10 from deep, mostly on desperation attempts — and failed to register an assist until the closing minutes despite commanding so much defensive attention.

These two would turn it around significantly. But the first three quarters are still important!

WINNER – The Fourth Quarter Rally

Alright, you don’t get within seconds of closing out a series without doing at least a few things right.

Mitchell turned it on in the fourth quarter. He finally broke free from Toronto’s shackles and found a nice home for himself in the mid-range. His floater helped fuel the comeback while Cleveland’s defense continued to ratchet up the intensity.

The Cavs held the Raptors to just 12 points in the fourth quarter. That’s as good as it gets defensively. If the Cavs could have been more effective on offense (only scoring 23 points themselves), they might have avoided overtime altogether.

This is where Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen deserve their flowers.

The two bigs came up huge throughout the rally. Mobley, in particular, scored 7 points in the clutch without missing a shot. He hit a corner three-pointer to cut into the lead, and then scored in isolation to force overtime in the final seconds.

Allen wasn’t as active in the scoring department but he applied maximum pressure on the glass. Allen grabbed contested board after contested board, helping the Cavs end possessions and extending them on the other side of the floor.

For a minute, this felt like the moment Cleveland was going to break through and prove they’re ready for the moment. Now they face elimination on Sunday.