The night started with an orchestra playing to hip hop beats and a great intro video montage leading up to lineups. Then the Raptors jumped on the Cavs, going up by as many as 21 points in the first half and holding on for a 101-91 win.
The Raptors were led early by an agressive Andrea Bargnani, who had 21 of his 28 points before the half. Reserves Antoine Wright, Jarrett Jack, and Marco Belinelli all came in with great energy off the bench, helping to build the lead in the second quarter.
The Cavs came out strong in the 3rd, led by LeBron James who finished with a triple double. They were able to fully come back and overtake the Raps for a 69-68 lead with 3 minutes left in the third. But the Raptors responded with a 19-5 run and never looked back. Chris Bosh finished with 21 points, going only 6-17 from the field, but was big on the boards with 16.
Post game observations:
- The 6th man ACC crowd was big all night. This game had a playoff atmosphere and for one night, the Raps put up a playoff-style defensive effort, holding the Cavs to 35% from the field. The highlight for me was when they gave it to the refs for a few favorable LeBron calls, one on a blocking foul which could have easily been a charge and one on a could-be travel. (Ahh, nothing like a good “Bu!! $hit Bu!! $hit“ chant)
- Triano played Calderon and Jack together for long stretches in the fourth quarter. Not sure if this will happen regularly, but if it does, with Turkoglu on the floor as well, the Raps have 3 capable ballhandlers late in the game, which means solid 4th quarter execution.
- The Raptors are a pretty deep team with lots of energy coming off the bench. Wright, Jack and Belinelli were big tonight. Add Amir Johnson to that, who played only 6 minutes tonight, and Reggie Evans, who sat out with injury, and the Raps second unit is looking good.
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