The Toronto Raptors are now tied for the best record in the NBA with a record of 11-2, after earning another quality win this season, this time on the road, beating LeBron James, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers by a score of 110-93.
Lou Williams is making an early case for 6th man of The Year! His on court display was incredible. Williams scored a career high, 36 points, last night; making all 15 of his free throw attempts, shooting 9 of 19 from the field (including 9 points from 3 point range). He also collected 4 rebounds, 3 of them on the offensive glass.
DeMar DeRozan bounced back with a fantastic game, scoring 20 points, grabbing 5 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists, and played an integral role defensively in limiting LeBron James effectiveness in the 2nd half. Kyle Lowry’s shot wasn’t on to start the game, but he still maintained his role as the floor general dishing out 8 assists, and made his way to the free throw line, making 11 of his 12 attempts, helping him collect 23 points on the night.
The Cavaliers came out amped, looking to right the ship as they haven’t started the NBA season the way they would like, with a record of 5-6 heading into the game. LeBron James took the role of facilitator in the game, dishing out 10 assists, including some pretty dimes to teammate Anderson Varejao. Varejao was active early, helping him collect a double-double on the evening with 13 points & 12 rebounds. Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving led the way in scoring for the Cavaliers, with 23 and 21 points respectively, both shooting 50% from the floor. LeBron shot 50% from the floor as well scoring 15 points on 6 of 12 shooting.
Toronto Raptors weathered the storm and fought through an 18 point first quarter deficit, cutting it to 13 points by the end of the 1st quarter as the Cavs led 34-21 after one. Cleveland tried to keep the pressure on having as much as a 16 point lead to open the 2nd quarter, but the Raptors’ second unit (Lou Williams, Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, Chuck Hayes) scored 36 of the Raptors 56 points they had at half time. Lou Williams hit a buzzer beating 3 pointer to end the first half, giving the Raptors a 2 point lead heading into half time.
From there Toronto didn’t look back, at one point holding an 18 point lead of their own in the 3rd quarter, eventually outscoring the Cleveland 29-17 in the 3rd. The Raptors continued to keep the pedal on the metal as they closed out the game winning by 19 points, with a final score 110-93.
‘We The North’ were out in full force on the road in Cleveland, supporting the Toronto Raptors. Buses of fans made the trip to Quicken Loans Arena to see the Raptors continue to take the next step as one the early season’s best teams in the NBA. There was almost an entire section behind one of the nets that was full of Raptors faithful, waving their ‘We The North’ flags and wearing Raptors gear from head to toe.
By The Numbers:
- The Raptors shot a sizzling 90% from the free throw line, making 38 of 42 attempts.
- Lou Williams scored a career high 36 points, coming off the bench in his usual 6th Man role.
- Lou Williams had a plus/minus of +37 on the night, in 29 minutes & 26 seconds of playing time.
- The Raptors took care of the basketball, only committing 8 turnovers in the game (5 of them were in the 1st half).
- Conversely, the Cavaliers committed a total of 20 turnovers, leading to 22 points for the Raptors.
Postgame Reactions:
Lou Williams
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBuT847mOws?list=UUYBFE432C2AmNRDGEXE4uVg]Kyle Lowry
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9ftcJtjVZM?list=UUYBFE432C2AmNRDGEXE4uVg]Dwane Casey
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiqEAuNKuUI?list=UUYBFE432C2AmNRDGEXE4uVg](Photo Credit: Jason Miller/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)
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