Recap: Cavs 122, Raptors 100 (or, Call Me Mister…)

About mid-way through the 2011-12 season, Kyrie Irving began to make a name for himself as “Mr. Fourth Quarter” due to his uncanny ability to “get buckets” in bushels during crunch time. That year, he was among the league leaders in fourth quarter scoring, averaging nearly nine points per contest during the final frame. There have been flashes of this KI in the six games he’s played since returning from injury, including his fantastic finish in Phoenix with a dagger three to help save the Cavs on the road. But, last night against the Raptors, MFQ was back… and in a big way. So big, in fact, that even LeBron got to witness the magic from the sidelines, as he (for the second game in a row) was able to kick back and relax for the final 12 minutes… after he helped the wine & gold get a bit of separation with his own third quarter heroics.

This game was sort of a reversal of the type of contests the Cavs have been playing recently. Instead of featuring tenacious, lock-down defense, it was their offense that ruled the day. Putting their team-wide shooting slump in the rearview, the Cavaliers went off for a season high 122 points on 55% shooting (52% from downtown). They did ultimately find a way to slow down the Raptors in the second half, making some key adjustments to their pick and roll defense, but as Coach Blatt remarked in his post-game comments… this was probably the first time all year this team has won a game primarily with their offense.

First Quarter:

Kyrie kicked off the festivities with the Cavs’ first two buckets of the game, including a swerving drive through the entire Raptors’ defense that ended with a baseline fadeaway. He looked sharp, both on the court and with his freshly shaven mug. The Cavs played some decent perimeter defense, but couldn’t stay in front of DeMar DeRozan as he executed his own layup drill for six early points. They also let Russell Brand’s Argentinian doppelganger, Luis Scola, get loose for a couple quick jumpers which seemed troublesome (he had 15 in the first quarter of the previous matchup). Fortunately, J.R. Smith had doused himself in jet fuel during the pre-game warmups and caught fire in short order, draining the first three of his season-high eight triples in the quarter… the last of which gave the Cavs their biggest lead (thus far) of 13…

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Toronto answered with an 8-0 run, driven by the relentless Kyle Lowry, who tallied five points and five assists in the period, with some help from a dead-eyed Patrick Patterson. James Jones went on his own freaking mini-run (with five points and a good foul to prevent a Bismack Biyombo dunk) at the end of the quarter, but both teams were scorching the nets (65% for the Cavs and 63% for the Raps) with abandon. Cavs led 33-29 after one.

Second Quarter:

Kyrie again attacked like a maniac from the start, making another sleight-of-hand drive to the hoop and chasing it with a 30-foot bomb from deeeeeep in the Q. Then, he found Iman Shumpert, who attempted to re-enact LBJ’s “…WITH NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE!” dunk against the Celtics from the 2008 playoffs… all he was missing was Kevin Harlan to call it…

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Still, the Cavs couldn’t seem to get much breathing room against the pesky Raptors, as they continued to get burned on the pick and roll, giving up entirely too much penetration… to everybody from Lowry and DeRozan to Terrence Ross and Patterson… and even Cory Joseph. Toronto also got a lot more physical this quarter, but finally started getting called for camping out in the paint (they got whistled for three illegal defenses in the game). They did, however, force five turnovers in the period, and were off and running after each one. The Cavs fought back by getting inside and going to the free throw line. Between Kevin Love, LeBron and… yes, Tristan Thompson (who hit all four of his), the Cavs were a perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe in the quarter. They also weathered a storm of jumpers by Lowry, who did his best Steph Curry imitation, even hitting an off-balance three while falling out of bounds. LeBron ended the half with his own driving layup, but the Raps still had a 28-20 points in the paint advantage. They shot 60% for first half, while the Cavs dipped to 54%, but still led 58-56 at half.

Third Quarter:

For some variety, Kevin Love took the scoring mantle for the first two buckets of the third, getting deep position for a sweet hook, then splashing his second trey for good measure. Those hoping the Cavs had made the proper adjustments at halftime to protect the rim would be sadly mistaken, as both Lowry and James Johnson continued the layup drill. LBJ was the defensive culprit on the Johnson layup, and he followed that up with a fairly lazy pass that got picked off. J.R. stayed nuclear hot though, trading three pointers first with Lowry, and then with Johnson to break the 69 point deadlock at the mid-point of the quarter. And finally, the Cavs started to defend the pick and roll, running an extra defender out to pressure the ball handler, and forced a couple of turnovers. After another terrific drive by Kyrie, two more freebies from TT (he nailed all six of his throws), and a high degree of difficulty Loaded Wombat (which was more of a tip than a slam on TT’s end), LeBron took over and gave the Cavs some much needed space. Even though he missed two of his four free throws, he still stole the ball for a run out, got another dunk, set up Delly for a trey, and finished the scoring with this triple of his own…

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The King played all 12 minutes of the third, scoring nine of his 20 in the quarter, and set the stage for Kyrie to takeover in the fourth. Cavs led 90-78 after three.

Fourth Quarter:

The Raps came out in the final period, determined to will their weary legs (they lost a tough game on a back-to-back the night before to the Bulls) to defend and keep the game within reach. Despite Kyrie fighting for his own offensive rebound and getting to the line for two, Toronto got Jonas Valanciunas going, and the big man threw in a quick seven points. His last bucket, a dunk in transition off of Delly’s third turnover, pulled the Raps within seven of the Cavs. But, three things happened to turn things around for the wine & gold. First, Delly pulled a “bananadova” (as christened by Nate) pump fake on Cory Joseph. Second, Blatt sent Timofey Mozgov in for TT to help shut down the Jonas V Experience. And third… Kyrie Irving went berserk (and made poor Cory Joseph dizzy).

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In what seemed like just the blink of an eye (but was in actuality just over three minutes), Kyrie used his shooting, his sublime handle and his preternatural passing to nearly single-handedly create a 14-0 run that put the game well out of reach. He scored nine of his game and season high 25 points in the quarter, and his three assists (eight for the game) led to the other seven points during the run. The Raptors had no answer for Mr. Fourth Quarter, and a closely contested game turned into a laugher. For good measure, J.R. swished his seventh and eighth triples of the game, and Delly closed out the scoring with one last Delly trey for the final margin… Cavs 122-100.

The Evil:

Mr. Cellophane. “Cellophane, Mr. Cellophane… ’cause you can look right through me, walk right by me and never know I’m there.” This was the theme song for the Cavs’ defense for about two and a half quarters against the Raptors. They got consistently beaten off the pick and roll, and there was very little rim protection of which to speak. Normally, against a more traditional big man like Jonas V, Moz might be a bit more suitable fit… if only he were his old consistent, rim-protecting self. Still, David Blatt and the coaching staff did make some adjustments, running an extra defender at the PnR, and subbing in Moz during the back-breaking 14-0 Kyrie explosion in the fourth. Although they did still lose the battle of the paint 48-40.

Mr. Butterfingers. Both Delly and LeBron had some uncharacteristic turnovers in this game. Toronto, to their credit, were playing the passing lanes aggressively, however, they also seemed to really key on Delly when he handled the ball. Kyle Lowry might actually be one of the few PGs who can match Delly’s combination of hustle and strength, and for much of the early going, he was able to exploit that. LBJ’s turnovers were oddly lazy ones that occurred just before he fully engaged and took over in the latter half of the third quarter.

Mr. Salty. One game after reportedly showing up late and being generally grumpy (apparently over playing time), Mo Williams was a healthy DNP-CD. He and Andy were the only non-suit wearing Cavs to not make it off the bench in this one. Let’s hope Mo can find a way to embrace his more limited role, stay ready in case of matchup or injury, and be content with finding a ring at the end of this rainbow of a season.

The Genius:

Mr. Fourth Quarter (aka Mr. Wizard). The rust looks almost gone from Uncle Drew. He was a force of nature in the final period, tornado-ing his way through Raptor defenders while unleashing destruction in every direction. But, it wasn’t just the finale. His game looked sharp and magical from the opening tip, and he electrified the offense in every one of the 29 minutes he was on the floor. It’s so much ridiculous fun watching this kid play the game of basketball. He is a true wizard with the rock, and the amount of audible “oohs” and “aahhhs” from the crowd was amazing. Also, he not only led the team with 25 points (on 10-16 shooting, 2-5 from deep) and eight assists, but also collected six boards and most importantly gave LeBron the opportunity to take the fourth quarter off. The NBA should now be on full alert for MFQ… and they should be very afraid. Just ask LeBron…

“He’s much better than an All-Star,” said James. “If he continues to play the way he’s been playing, but also progress in his game over the years, he can do something that’s very special. I know in my head what he can become and tonight he showed it.”

Mr. Third Quarter (aka Mr. Efficiency). It seemed like LeBron was a little subdued/disengaged for stretches of this game… then I read that he was also a bit under the weather coming into tonight. He had a fairly pedestrian (for him anyway) line of 11 points, four assists and one rebound by halftime. But, he woke up in the third quarter, playing all 12 minutes, scoring nine points, dishing out three assists and swiping three steals to offset his turnovers. He was directly responsible for giving the Cavs the breathing room they needed to set the stage for Kyrie’s takeover. Though he missed a few free throws, he was still a tremendously efficient 7-11 from the field, and took only two shots from beyond the arc (making one). With Kyrie rounding into form, there may be a lot fewer fourth quarters in LeBron’s future this year.

Mr. Oppenheimer. Against the Raptors, J.R. became Death… the destroyer of nets. He wasn’t just en fuego hot… or surface of the sun hot… he was splitting the atom, nuclear hot. LeBron remarked post-game that J.R. attempted more threes than LBJ did regular shots… and he was right (14 to 11). The reason why? He made eight of them… This was J.R.’s 47th game with at least six made treys, and he trails only Steph Curry (57) and Ray Allen (48). He is also only second to Curry (16) with 14 games of at least eight triples.

Mr. Clean. TT not only polished the glass with 11 boards (four offensive), but he also had a perfect night at the line, going 6-6. He finished with a double double, scoring 14 points to go along with his handiwork on the glass. Though he struggled a little with Jonas V’s size, he was still effective on both ends of the floor, and seems to be growing into his starting spot.

Mr. Nice Guy. Kevin Love wound up playing 33 minutes, even though he was too sick to participate in the morning shoot-around. He still managed a near double double, scoring 14 points to go with nine boards, plus two assists, two steals and three blocks. His illness probably affected his interior defense a bit, but it would be great to see him play with more of an edge inside when he’s healthy.

Mr. Coffee. Maybe Delly got some of his beloved caffeine at halftime, because he seemed to really perk up in the latter stages of the game. His early ball handling miscues were eclipsed by his passing (four assists) and scoring (11 points on 3-4 shooting, 2-3 from deep), particularly in the fourth quarter when he shared the floor with Kyrie, KLove, Shump and Moz. He also combined with Shump to play some inspired defense on Lowry and DeRozan late in the game.

Mr. Fantastic (or in this case Shump-tastic). Iman’s arms were more elastic than Reed Richards’ while defending the Raptor guards in the second half. Though credited with just one steal, he was a bench best +17 during his 30 minutes on the floor. He also pulled down three boards, hit a three and threw down one of the nastier dunks of the season. He also shares the number 4 with the actual Mr. Fantastic… coincidence?

Mr. Jones. James Jones only played a few minutes, but he made the most of them… nailing a three and two free throws, while preventing a Biyombo dunk with a smart foul. This is the kind of contribution you hope for from JFJ. Let’s hope his attitude and willingness to contribute even in small ways rubs off on Mo.

Mr. Happy. David Blatt was maybe the most thrilled guy out there watching Kyrie’s return to form. After it was over, he and Irving exchanged a hug on the court.

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“Honestly, I just told him, `Man, it’s good to have you back and looking at full strength,” Blatt said. “It felt like he was himself tonight. It just looked like the old Kyrie.”

Mr. Brightside

For those of you who listened to yesterday’s podcast, I had a New Year’s Cavs resolution that I’ve already begun to employ. Namely, I’ve resolved to stop worrying about every little up and down this team has, and just enjoy the heck out of watching them continue to grow, bond and play together. Sure, it’s easy on nights like the one they had against the Raptors, especially given how much fun it is to watch Kyrie do his thing, but I’ve found it’s important to stay on an even keel and keep an eye on the larger picture. As long as this team can make this sojourn through the regular season in relatively good health, I’ll save all of my unnecessary angst for the playoffs.

That said, I’m sure this upcoming road trip will test my resolve, but I’m feeling pretty positive about where this team is at… and is headed.

GO CAVS!