Toronto Raptors hold off Cleveland Cavaliers to level series
Last Updated: 24/05/16 8:09am
Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan scored more than 30 points each as the Toronto Raptors withstood a ferocious Cleveland Cavaliers fightback to level their Eastern Conference final series with a 105-99 victory.
Lowry scored 35 points while DeRozan weighed in with 32 as Toronto completed a win that leaves the best-of-seven series tied at 2-2 with three games to play.
The victory continues a remarkable transformation in fortunes for the Raptors - playing in their first Eastern Conference finals - who had lost the opening two games of the series heavily to trail 2-0.
With Lowry and DeRozan in imperious form, Toronto surged into an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter.
However, the Cavs rallied superbly through LeBron James, who finished with 29 points, and Kyrie Irving to haul themselves back into the contest.
With just over five minutes of the fourth quarter remaining, the Cavs had wiped out the deficit and taken a 92-89 lead.
But just when it looked as if the Cavs might score a vital road victory - and open up a 3-1 series lead - the Raptors rallied again, going on an 11-3 scoring run in the closing minutes to claim the win.
"I thought we had control of the game, built a three-point lead, but we just made some defensive mistakes that you can't make down the stretch," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. "Each time we made a mistake, they made us pay.
"We had an opportunity to not play well and win that game. They executed every time we made a mistake."
James, who also had nine rebounds, bemoaned the Cavs' lacklustre start to the game.
"We got off to a horrible first half and we were playing catch up," he said. "We had a chance to win the ballgame but we can't dig ourselves a hole like we did in the first half."
A delighted DeRozan said: "We were solid down the stretch, understanding that when they scored we had to come down and get a bucket."
