LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers opened the fourth quarter of Game 4 by making their first 11 shots, completely erasing a double-digit deficit in the process. It was just how things tend to go for the Toronto Raptors. No one watching across the country was shocked, and those at Air Canada Centre definitely weren’t surprised.
Until Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Bismack Biyombo and company righted the ship to even a series they’re supposed to lose, of course.
The Raptors beat the Cavaliers, 105-99, on Monday night to tie the Eastern Conference Finals at two games apiece. Lowry tormented Cleveland from the opening tip en route to 35 points on 20 shots; DeRozan went for 32 points on 14-of-23 shooting; and Biyombo had five points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks to continue his run as the postseason’s top breakout performer.
Until the fourth quarter, Game 4 seemed like one Toronto was bound to win. Lowry and DeRozan were splashing jumpers and attacking the rim despite failing to get to the free-throw line, and Biyombo was spearheading a defense that had the Cavaliers nearly as frustrated as they appeared 48 hours earlier.
Could this series really go back to Northeast Ohio all knotted up? The only way that wouldn’t come to pass was if the always brilliant James rose to the occasion and the perpetually woebegone Raptors fell from it.
It even happened before crunch time, too.
Cleveland rode a dribble hand-off between James and Matthew Dellavedova with Channing Frye stationed on the weak side to pitch-perfect offense over and over again. Richard Jefferson took advantage of a switch down low, Frye drilled three consecutive triples, and Lue’s team took its first lead of the game on a layup by James with 8:14 remaining.
Game over? This was the Raptors and Cavaliers, after all, two teams on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of playoff experience and success. James and the rest were here last year; Lowry and his teammates had never been here before.
But no matter. This team, relative struggles of the first and second rounds be damned, is a much different one than its predecessors. Toronto’s stars kept their squad afloat during Cleveland’s onslaught, and Dwane Casey finally found a fix to what ailed his team on the other end.
By the time Biyombo grabbed an offensive rebound with his team up four as the clock ticked below 45 seconds, a victory was nearly snatched from the jaws of defeat – and Lowry did it himself with yet another blow by to make the Raptors’ lead six with just 22 seconds left.
Cleveland and Toronto, believe it or not, are tied 2-2. Don’t be surprised anymore. Just like the Cavaliers’ Finals hopes are no longer foolproof, the Raptors’ time-honored penchant for disappointing isn’t, either.
