Despite nearly completing a 17-point comeback, the Toronto Raptors (4-13) fell 122-108 to the Cleveland Cavaliers (17-1) on Sunday night, remaining the NBA’s lone winless team on the road this season.
Scottie Barnes and Gradey Dick led the squad in scoring with 18 points each but struggled efficiency-wise. Both shot under 40 per cent from the field and were a combined 4-of-15 from beyond the arc. Dick also left the game before the final buzzer after being ruled out with calf soreness. Meanwhile, Jakob Poeltl notched a fifth consecutive double-double, the first time doing so in his career, as he finished with 12 points and 19 rebounds. RJ Barrett added 16 points, six rebounds and six assists.
The Cavaliers entered the contest as the league’s top offence and proved as much, shelling the Raptors for 38 points and a quick 16-point lead after 12 minutes of action. Cleveland shot 8-of-10 at the rim while also knocking down 6-of-9 attempts from distance compared to Toronto’s 2-of-12 in the opening frame.
Donovan Mitchell and Ty Jerome led the charge in the Cavs’ 10th consecutive home victory to start the season, as the pair of guards notched 26 points each while combining to nail nine 3-pointers at a 53 per cent clip. Jarrett Allen also chipped in with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and 13 rebounds. The big man is shooting 68.8 per cent from the field on average this season which is the second-highest mark in the NBA.
And while the game was trending towards another blowout — similar to the Raptors season-opening 136-106 loss to the Cavaliers — things got interesting in the second quarter thanks to a spark from Jonathan Mogbo.
The rookie scored 11 of his career-high 13 points, even nailing the first NBA three of his career in the first half, while also disrupting Cleveland’s offence in the paint. The Cavaliers shot 4-of-10 at the rim in the second frame with Mogbo playing most of those minutes, and the Raptors used a 19-9 run to cut the deficit down to 65-55 at halftime.
The 31st overall pick was one of just three Raptors to finish with a positive plus-minus against the Cavaliers, and his plus-one rating led the team amongst players who logged at least 20 minutes.
The closest Toronto got to taking its only lead of the contest was when yet another rookie made some big plays. Jamal Shead hit back-to-back threes late in the third quarter and cut the deficit down to 92-89.
Execution fell short after that, however, as the Raptors gave up a 10-1 run to open the fourth quarter. It turned what was a manageable six-point gap to start the final frame into yet another canyon too large to cross.
The Raptors’ defence kept things close in spurts but couldn’t hold up long enough to overcome a sputtering offence. As a whole, Toronto shot 40.2 per cent (37-92) from the field, 30.8 per cent from distance (12-39) and 64.7 per cent (22-34) from the free throw line. Toronto finished 12.8 points worse per 100 possessions than Cleveland in terms of half-court offence.
Against a Cavaliers’ squad that hit four more triples, at a 39 per cent clip, and scored 22 more points in the paint (64-42), those scoring numbers just won’t cut it.
The Raptors return to action on Monday, continuing a four-game road trip by visiting the Detroit Pistons on the second night of a back-to-back.
Detroit won the previous matchup between the Eastern Conference rivals, beating Toronto 99-95 less than two weeks ago during NBA Cup group play.
It was one of many road losses for the Raptors this season who’ll enter the matchup 0-9 away from Scotiabank Arena thus far. One more defeat as a visiting team and it would tie the Franchise’s worst mark of 0-10 set in 1997-98.
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