Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points and the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the Toronto Raptors 131-108 on Wednesday night to win their fourth straight game.
Reserve De’Andre Hunter put up 18 points, Sam Merrill scored 16 points and Darius Garland added 15 points and eight assists for the Cavaliers, who completed a four-game sweep of the season series.
Cleveland’s Evan Mobley had 12 points and 15 rebounds, Jarrett Allen logged 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Max Strus scored 14 points.
RJ Barrett registered 27 points for the Raptors, who have lost five of their past six games. Scottie Barnes added 16 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and three blocked shots. Immanuel Quickley and Ochai Agbaji each had 15 points, and Jamison Battle scored 11.
Strus gave a hint of the way the first quarter would go when he took Mobley’s handoff at the top of the key and drained a 3-pointer to give Cleveland a 4-0 lead. Strus had four of the Cavaliers’ eight 3-pointers in the opening period, which ended with the visitors holding a 41-17 lead.
Cleveland dominated Toronto inside early in the game. Mobley had his layup attempt blocked by Barnes in the first minute of the second quarter. Unfazed, Mobley recovered the rebound to slam home a dunk that bumped the margin to 27.
The Raptors crept within 18 points when Barrett made a running reverse layup with 5:27 left in the first half. Rebounding continued to be a factor when Hunter snared his fourth of the game uncontested after a Toronto miss and dribbled up the court before pulling up to sink a 9-footer with 4:01 left in the period.
Cleveland led 68-43 at halftime, thanks in part to a 29-14 advantage on the glass.
The Raptors showed more energy to start the third quarter, but the Cavaliers did not let up. When Garland pulled up to hit a 26-foot 3-pointer, Cleveland led 83-52 with 9:00 remaining. Hunter’s trey increased the lead to 95-56 with 5:19 left, but an 8-0 Toronto run cut the difference to 100-78 after three quarters.
Hunter’s 3-pointer put Cleveland ahead by 27 with 9:48 left in the fourth quarter, squashing Toronto hopes for a comeback.
There was a brief skirmish at the end of the game.
Cleveland’s Ty Jerome (calf) and Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl (hip) did not play.
–Field Level Media
