CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers fought back from a double-digit second-half deficit to regain control of the series. Eleven fourth-quarter points from Dennis Schroder and multiple clutch shots from Evan Mobley carried the Cavs to a 125-120 victory to take a 3-2 series lead over the Toronto Raptors.
Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson decided to make a change with his starting lineup: Dean Wade was out, Max Strus was in. The idea behind this move was to primarily juice an offense that couldn’t get anything
going in either Game 3 or 4.
This move didn’t produce instant results. The Cavs were outscored by nine points in the first five minutes with the starting lineup on the floor. They weren’t physical defensively, and the insertion didn’t provide the offensive boost Atkinson was likely hoping for.
Momentum changed after the initial subs came in. Dean Wade and Sam Merrill provided an immediate spark, but the real story was James Harden playing some of his best basketball since coming to Cleveland.
Harden carried the Cavs through the opening quarter. He poured in 14 points in that frame to help the Cavs secure a narrow 38-34 lead after one.
Cleveland gave that advantage away at the beginning of the second quarter.
Atkinson decided to give Thomas Bryant his first minutes of the series at the start of the second quarter, and it didn’t go well. The Raptors picked on him defensively and neutralized any advantage he would’ve created inside because they could cheat off Evan Mobley.
This allowed the Raptors’ offense to get going. Toronto rattled off 40 points in the second quarter, led by 11 points from Ja’Kobe Walter, and the team went 5-8 (62.5%) from beyond the arc.
Turnovers were once again a problem for the Cavs in the second quarter. After a lights-out first quarter, Harden turned it over four times himself. As a team, Cleveland gave it up six times in the quarter, leading to 14 Toronto points off turnovers.
This all resulted in the Cavs going into the half with a seven-point deficit.
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Brandon Ingram left the game in the second quarter with a heel injury that kept him out the rest of the game. He scored just one point on 0-2 shooting in 11 minutes.
The Raptors pushed their advantage to 12 at the start of the third quarter. The Cavs fought back to keep the game within reach, and then cut the deficit to just three at the end of the quarter, thanks to a three and dunk by Evan Mobley just before the clock expired.
A Jaylon Tyson three-pointer at the start of the fourth quarter tied the game. The Cavs took their first lead since midway through the second quarter with a Mobley triple. Dennis Schroder took over from there.
After being an afterthought for the first four games of the series, Schroder made his presence felt. He ran the offense in the fourth quarter and carried the team over the finish line. He scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter on an efficient 5-8 shooting.
Schroder’s emergence came at the expense of Donovan Mitchell’s minutes. Mitchell was held to just six and a half minutes in the final frame and didn’t re-enter the fourth quarter until under three minutes left in the game.
It was a weird game for Mitchell. There were spurts — particularly in the third quarter — where he was his usual aggressive self. Still, this wasn’t typical playoff form. He finished just four of his 10 shots in the paint. Mitchell had 19 points on 7-17 shooting with three assists.
Harden and Mobley led the Cavs with 23 points apiece. Harden went 7-13 from the field with nine rebounds and five assists. Mobley had six points in the fourth quarter.
RJ Barrett led the Raptors with 25 points on 9-19 shooting with 12 rebounds and five assists. Walter had 20 points on 7-16 shooting. Scottie Barnes had 17 points on 6-16 shooting with 11 assists and eight boards.
It’s been a hard-fought series that hasn’t necessarily been pretty throughout. The same warts that have plagued the Cavs throughout this era of basketball have cropped up at the worst times. Still, they have a chance to close out this first-round series as it shifts back to Canada.
Game 6 is on Friday evening.
