Sports
Cavaliers dominate the Raptors from start-to-finish in 116-105 Game 1 win
Cleveland Cavaliers, Defend the Land, Toronto Raptors, Tyronne Lue, Lebron James, Kyrie Irving, Eastern Conference
The defending champions Cleveland Cavaliers took care of business in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, cruising past the Toronto Raptors, 116-105.
The Cavaliers put on a show for the majority of the game in front of their hometown fans in a building where Cleveland has outscored Toronto by an average margin victory of 25 points in their past four home playoff games, dating back to last year's Eastern Conference Finals.
The Cleveland Cavaliers hadn't played since April 23, when they completed a four-game sweep of the Indiana Pacers. The defending champs did not show any sign of rust and were aggressive from the start, jumping out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and consolidating in the second.
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The Cavs built an 18-point lead only to watch the Raptors go on a 19-3 burst to pull within 41-39. Then Cleveland regrouped and played a turnover-free second quarter, led 62-48 at halftime and never looked back.
Lebron James was, of course, dominant, going for 35 points and 10 boards in 41 minutes. He was clearly the best player on the court. He got to the rim when he wanted and shot well enough from the outside to keep defenders honest.
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Kyrie Irving scored 24 points, handed out 10 assists, and showed off his all-world handle more than a few times.
One of the most memorable plays of the night occurred when Lebron James was fouled by Serge Ibaka late in the third quarter and while his momentum took him over to the sidelines, Lebron stopped and took a beer out of a vendor's hand, pretending to drink it.
It was the most complete game the Cavs have played this postseason so far and Lebron believes that his team is starting to turn a corner-something he alluded to in his comments after Game 2 of the first round series with Indiana Pacers.
Toronto is notoriously shaky in the opening game of their playoff series, so they should bounce back. This loss dropped their record to 1-12 in playoff openers.
COMING UP FOR THE CAVS: The Cleveland Cavaliers (1-0), look to keep the momentum going on Wednesday, May 3 at the Q, while the Toronto Raptors (0-1) will look to finally win a road playoff game in Cleveland.