CAN Cleveland capture another 4-0 sweep of Toronto?
But pursuing that line might sound a bit too cocky.
While the Cavaliers did blank the Raptors last year in the NBA Eastern playoffs, duplicating that didn’t seem likely before their semifinal series began.
Cleveland was dead tired after it got shoved into a Game 7 decider by tough-as-nails Indiana.
With LeBron James and the Cavs having only barely a day of rest before their Game 1 battle against the Raptors, Cavalier was virtually headed into a slaughterhouse in Toronto.
It did distinctly appear like that, until Toronto missed 15 of its last 16 shots to lose a won game 113-112 in overtime.
What a way to lose.
Pain pictured all over the Raptors’ faces when it was over.
Why, because they flubbed four chances to win it on follow-ups before regulation play ended at 105-all.
Jonas Valancianus typified Toronto’s endgame collapse.
After making his 21st point to give Toronto a 98-94 lead, Valancianus would not score again.
He missed his last six attempts, three of them when Toronto flunked its last seven shots in the last 29 seconds of regulation.
And was LeBron James supposed to be fagged out as the King himself had said “I’m burnt out” after Cleveland beat Indiana in Game 7?
But to disprove that, James scored Cleveland’s last two baskets on a drive and a jumper for the 105-all tie leading to overtime.
Then he “rested,” contenting himself with issuing back-to-back assists that produced two killer threes from Kyle Korver and J.R. Smith as the Cavs built an early 111-105 lead in overtime.
When Tristan Thompson made it 113-105 with a hook shot, Cleveland was off and running to its Game 1 victory—even as LeBron was, by choice, scoreless in the five-minute extension.
LeBron’s last two assists in Game 1 was expanded to 16 after Cleveland’s 128-110 rout of Toronto in Game 2 behind the King’s career-high tying 14 assists on top of his 43 points and 8 rebounds.
But more importantly, the Game 2 victory fueled talks of a Cavs 4-0 sweep looming anew as Cleveland took home court advantage with the next two games scheduled at Quicken Loans Arena starting Sunday (PHL Time).
I can’t wait to see it happen.