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Raptors 99, Cavaliers 93
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
CLEVELAND — All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan fired in a game-high 33 points in the Toronto Raptors’ 99-93 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
DeRozan had 16 points in the fourth quarter. He added four rebounds and six assists, as the Raptors won their third consecutive game, and second over the Cavs in the last five days.
Forward Terrence Ross added 19 points for the Raptors, including a 5-for-8 performance from behind the arc.
The Cavs (22-36) have lost three in a row. Guard Kyrie Irving paced the Cavs with 25 points and nine assists. Center Spencer Hawes added 15 points and seven rebounds in his first start for the Cavs. He was traded to Cleveland by Philadelphia last week.
The Cavs outrebounded the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors 43-39 as forwards Tristan Thompson and Luol Deng each had nine.
Toronto, the third seed in the Eastern Conference, improved to 32-25 on the season.
The fading Cavaliers were five games out of No. 8 seed in the East at the beginning of the night.
Guard Jarrett Jack added 12 points and four assists for the Cavs, while Thompson had 13 points and guard Matthew Dellavedova 10.
Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry added 13 points, five rebounds and nine assists.
Toronto shot 44.3 percent from the field, compared to the Cavs’ 40.5 percent.
The Raptors led 70-69 after three quarters, but the officials took away a basket by Lowry with 1:13 left in the third, saying it came after the shot clock had expired. The reversal gave the Cavs a 69-68 lead at the
The Cavs closed the first half with seven unanswered points. They whittled a 14-point deficit to six at halftime, 47-41.
NOTES: C Spencer Hawes made his first start with the Cavaliers on Tuesday against Toronto. In two games with Cleveland, he averaged 11 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. “Every passing day, the fit is better on both ends of the floor,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. … Cavaliers F Luol Deng said he thinks the Raptors surged since the Rudy Gay trade to Sacramento on Dec. 9. “I think their problem was more of balancing the shots offensively,” Deng said. “I think they figured that out.” … The Cavaliers are missing three of their top eight players: C Anderson Varejao (back), G Dion Waiters (knee) and G/F C.J. Miles (ankle). “We need guys to step up,” Brown said. “That’s part of the evolution of a season.” None of the three players will travel to Oklahoma City on Wednesday. … There are currently nine Canadian players in the NBA. Of course, two of them play for the Cavaliers: F Anthony Bennett and F Tristan Thompson. The others are Joel Anthony, Samuel Dalembert, Cory Joseph, Steve Nash, Andrew Nicholson, Kelly Olynyk and Robert Sacre. … Raptors F Amir Johnson, bothered by a sore right ankle, remained in the starting lineup.
