Lebron hits buzzer-beater to beat Raptors, Cavs take 3-0 lead

Unbelievable!!! Lebron James does it again!

After the Raptors tied it on rookie OG Anunoby's 3-pointer with eight seconds left, Lebron James dribbles down the left side of the floor, jumps high into the air and banked in a running one-hander at the buzzer. The impossible running bank shot gave the Cleveland Cavaliers a 105-103 win over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night at the Q. The win gives the Cavaliers a 3-0 stranglehold in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"I live for those moments," James said. "Be able to go out and come through for my team. My guys, they trust me. I was able to go out and do it."

Raptors coach Dwane Casey wanted to trap James on the final play, but he went by defenders at "100 miles per hour."

"We wanted to make somebody else get the shot and we just didn't get it done," Casey said. "We are all hurt."

Lebron James finished with 38 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Kevin Love added 21 points and 16 rebounds and Kyle Korver added 18 points for the Cavs, who can sweep the Raptors for the second straight season.

Desperate to find something to slow down the Cavs, Casey changed his starting lineup for Game 3. He inserted 6-foot guard Fred VanVleet and benched forward Serge Ibaka, going with a smaller lineup to push the pace. Toronto started the game 2 of 11 from the field and the Raptors were quickly down 12 and seemingly in big trouble when DeRozan picked up his second foul and went to the bench.

At halftime, Cleveland leads 55-40, a lead that was built by the Cavaliers going on a 16-4 run over the first 6:53 of the game, and then going on a 16-2 run over the final 5:07 of the first half. That’s a 32-6 advantage for Cleveland over exactly 12 minutes.

The Raptors, who never led in this must-win game, fought admirably and had a 15-6 run to start the fourth quarter which had the Raptors within seven, 87-80, with a little over seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter. They came back again to cut the lead to 97-95 with less than three minutes remaining and 102-100 with 15 seconds left. Finally, they pulled even on the Anunoby's three-pointer after Jeff Green missed a late free throw that could have iced the game for the Cavaliers. Then Lebron happened!

Kyle Lowry scored 27 for Toronto, while DeMar DeRozan finished with eight points on 3-of-12 shooting and zero points in the fourth quarter as he was watching the second half from the Raptors' bench.

COMING UP FOR THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: Game 4 is on Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT at the Q. With the Cavaliers leading the series 3-0, if the Cavs win, they’re on to the Eastern Conference finals. No team has ever blown a 3-0 playoff series lead.