Cleveland Cavaliers beat Toronto Raptors 126-113 at home on Saturday, April 18, never trailing at a quarter break.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Cavaliers struck first, taking the opening quarter 35-31 and a 4-point lead after one. The Cavaliers kept the pressure on with a 26-23 second quarter, carrying a 7-point lead into halftime.
The Cavaliers won the third 36-22 to create some separation, taking a 21-point lead into the fourth. The Raptors took the fourth 37-29; the Cavaliers held on for a 126-113 regulation win.
What decided it
The Cavaliers grabbed 23.3% of their own misses, while the Raptors recovered 13.3%. The Cavaliers took better care of the ball, turning it over on 14.8% of possessions compared with 17.1% for the Raptors. The second chances kept adding up.
The Raptors did win one battle, the free-throw line: FT rate of 36.6 against 27.2. The Cavaliers made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 100 possessions per team, the Cavaliers produced 125.5 points per 100 possessions to 112.6 for the Raptors.
Who made the difference
Donovan Mitchell was the game's biggest individual force for CLE: 32 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast on 11-20 shooting. His Game Score of 23.3 led everyone. His team was +16 with him on the floor.
RJ Barrett led the Raptors with 24 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast on 7-13 shooting, good for a 15.8 Game Score.
James Harden (22 pts, 2 reb, 10 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Cavaliers about a 72% chance.
Across the last 7 meetings in our records, Cleveland Cavaliers lead 4-3.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.