{"id":166933,"date":"2022-12-24T09:24:02","date_gmt":"2022-12-24T09:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/cleveland-cavaliers-buried-by-toronto-raptors-as-starters-get-benched-in-118-107-loss\/"},"modified":"2022-12-24T09:24:02","modified_gmt":"2022-12-24T09:24:02","slug":"cleveland-cavaliers-buried-by-toronto-raptors-as-starters-get-benched-in-118-107-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/cleveland-cavaliers-buried-by-toronto-raptors-as-starters-get-benched-in-118-107-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Cavaliers buried by Toronto Raptors, as starters get benched in 118-107 loss"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CLEVELAND, Ohio — The weather outside was frightful. And there was nothing delightful.<\/p>\n

The Cleveland Cavaliers had their five-game winning streak snapped by the feisty Toronto Raptors, 118-107. It’s Cleveland’s first loss at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse since Dec. 9. The Cavs have yet to beat Toronto this season, with the Raptors claiming the season series as a result of Wednesday night’s triumph.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey kicked our ass, to be honest with you,\u201d team leader Donovan Mitchell said following the loss. \u201cYou can say you have nights like that, but after a win like we had against Milwaukee, it was kind of upsetting to come out the way we did as a group, especially the starters. I put it on the starting five. We’ll be better, we’ll learn from it, and we’ll move on, but it’s definitely tough to come out the way we came out as a group.\u201d<\/p>\n

A blizzard warning in the area caused havoc on the roads, which led to a half-filled arena. It typically takes Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff, who lives in a westside suburb, about 25 minutes to get to work. On Friday night, that treacherous commute lasted close to an hour. Players had similar troubles getting downtown. For most, the travel time was doubled.<\/p>\n

Recommended Cavs stories<\/b><\/u><\/p>\n

Even though there were conversations with the league throughout the day about the possibility of a postponement, the game went on as scheduled.<\/p>\n

It looked like only one team showed up.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou come out the gate and give up (39) points in the first quarter, it means you’re just not ready to play,\u201d Bickerstaff said.<\/p>\n

The Raptors, who entered the night losers of six of their last seven games, poured in 69 first-half points — tied for the second-most against the Cavs in any half this season.<\/p>\n

Things didn’t get better for Cleveland in the third quarter.<\/p>\n

After trailing by 16 points at the half, the lethargic Cavs who looked ready to start their holiday celebrations early, allowed the Raptors to open the third quarter on an 11-2 run, pushing their advantage to 25. Two possessions later, the margin ballooned to a game-high 26, forcing a miffed Bickerstaff to call timeout.<\/p>\n

Following the stoppage at the 9:25 mark, the coach wanted to send a clear message to his five starters — Mitchell, Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Bickerstaff made wholesale changes, pulling all five struggling starters in favor of the reserves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the perfect thing to do. We weren’t there. We didn’t show up,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cYou go to guys who want to come in and pick up the energy. We didn’t answer the call, we deserved to be benched for that time. And I would have thought it would have been the whole game, just based off our play. Sometimes you need that. Give a huge credit to the guys who came in. JB did the right thing. We shouldn’t have been out there and it looked bad. And the other guys had our back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite that energetic quintet cutting the lead in half around the three-minute mark of the third, the Raptors regained control and were ahead by 20 through three quarters.<\/p>\n

Cleveland needed a Christmas Eve Eve miracle.<\/p>\n

Bickerstaff went back to his starters — and they opened the fourth on a 7-0 surge, sending a temporary jolt through the arena. By the midway point of the fourth, Toronto’s lead was down to 12. The Cavs got as close as nine. But couldn’t dig themselves all the way out of the deep early hole. Toronto led for 46 minutes Wednesday night — another dominant performance against the Cavs, who seemed to struggle with the Raptors’ length, athleticism and physicality for the third time this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you foul the whole game — and they’re really good at it — they can foul the whole game and the refs aren’t going to call it on each possession,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cYou gotta give them credit. They’re physical. We came out expecting certain things to go our way, waiting for foul calls that weren’t there. They just were the aggressor. We were on our heels the whole night.\u201d<\/p>\n

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