J.R. Smith scored 15 points, Jeff Green had 14 and George Hill 13 as the Cavaliers posted their eighth consecutive postseason victory over the Raptors and halted Toronto’s four-game winning streak in Game 2s. The Raptors entered 6-1 all time when playing Game 2 at home.
James also had eight rebounds, narrowly missing his second straight triple-double. He connected on 19 of 28 attempts, while Love shot 11-for-21.
DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points and Kyle Lowry had 21 and eight assists for the Raptors, who won a team-record 59 games and finished as the East’s top-seeded team but are now halfway to a third straight postseason exit at the hands of James and the Cavaliers.
Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points and 12 rebounds and Fred VanVleet scored 14 points, but the Raptors lost back-to-back home games for the first time all season. Their 34-7 record at home during the regular season tied the Rockets for the league’s top mark.
The series shifts to Ohio for Game 3 on Saturday night. The Raptors have gone 0-5 in Cleveland over the past two postseasons, losing by an average margin of 24.2 points per game.
The Cavaliers are 21-3 at home against Eastern opponents in the playoffs over the last four years.
The Raptors, who let a 10-point lead slip away in a 113-112 overtime loss in Game 1, were up 54-45 midway through the second quarter but saw their lead dwindle to 63-61 by halftime.
The Cavaliers took control as Smith scored six points in an 18-5 spurt to begin the third quarter. They outscored the Raptors 37-24 in the period to take an 11-point edge into the fourth and were not threatened after that.
The second-year pro was re-evaluated Thursday and will be examined by team medical staff again in four weeks. McCaw is making “steady functional progress” and will also work with the athletic training staff to keep building back his overall strength and conditioning.
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