Pascal Siakam scored 26 points and dished out nine assists, O. G. On Friday night, Anunoby scored 26 points as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-107 to become the first East team to triumph there this year.
To defeat the Cavaliers for the third time in three games this season, Toronto had 25-point scoring from Scottie Barnes and 18 from Fred VanVleet. Anunoby tied his career high with six 3-pointers as the Raptors made a season-high 19 of them.
To force them to make difficult shots and move a gang rebound, Anunoby said, “We desired to play quickly and aggressively from the beginning. Good things will happen if we play energetically and forcefully. “
Siakam had seven assists in addition to his 52 points, a career-high, on Wednesday against New York. Anunoby had nine rebounds, VanVleet had eight, and Barnes had ten.
After three minutes, VanVleet’s third 3-pointer of the third quarter gave Toronto an 83-57 lead, which prompted Cleveland coach J. B. To withdraw Bickerstaff’s entire starting lineup. When the game ended, Donovan Mitchell had 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting. He had four points at the time.
According to Bickerstaff, “They were aware that they were not upholding their end of the bargain. “. Toronto is a capable team. Someone will kick you in the face if you become complacent in the NBA. “
With an 11-1 record against the East, the Cavaliers finished with 16-3 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Other winning teams in Cleveland included Minnesota and Sacramento.
The Cavaliers, who are 4-1 during a season-high, six-game homestand, were led by Darius Garland’s 17 points, eight assists, and Isaac Okoro’s 15 points. Despite being bench players, Cedi Osman and Kevin Love both scored 13 points.
According to Bickerstaff, we must keep in mind that this game is a part of our development. Donovan, who is only 26 years old, is the most senior member of our lineup. Being a very new team, we are still learning to compete and win in this league. “.
The Raptors, who had an NBA-worst 3-point shooting percentage of 32.2% going into the game, made 12 of 21 in the opening period and finished with a 51.4% mark.
Since defeating the Cavaliers in November, Toronto has won twice in its last eight games and is now 4-9 overall. 28.
Stay energized by the lead; keep getting stops, Pascal kept admonishing, Barnes recalled. “So we started strong in the third quarter. Fred and Pascal made some shots. Just now, we emerged prepared to play. “.
Due to the sub-zero temperatures and bad road conditions in Northeast Ohio, the Cavaliers reported a sellout crowd of 19,432. Still, the arena was only slightly more than the two-thirds whole.