In an 82-game season, there are going to be some absolute stinkers. The Toronto Raptors have had their share of games this season that have been ready to file in the stinker column, only to be revived by five minutes of zone defence, a Kyle Lowry avalanche of energy, or Kawhi Leonard doing superhuman things. Tonight, they never got their revival. The Raptors were bad early, bad in the middle, and bad late — suffering a season’s worst loss to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers, 126-101. the cavs once again embarrass the raptors in their final meeting of the season — Yahoo Sports Canada (@YahooCASports) March 12, 2019 Key to the Raptors loss were issues with turnovers and finishing possessions with rebounds. Toronto committed 20 turnovers to the Cavs’ 12, mostly due to a low give-a-shit meter. When running out in transition, the Raptors ran into no fewer than four set bodies — resulting in charge calls. When trying to make pocket passes, there was no zip on the ball, resulting in the basketball somewhere in a mess of ankles. Every aspect of the game was just missing that oomph of “this game matters to us”. On the boards, the Raptors were lethargic on the weak side. Serge Ibaka especially struggled with the energy of Ante Zizic, Cedi Osman, and Marquese Chriss — so much so that when Chriss decided to talk some trash to him, he got up and calmly grabbed Chriss by the throat, dragged him into the stanchion, and punched him a couple times for good measure. Ibaka and Chriss out here throwing punches pic.twitter.com/NwRhL6Apw4 — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 12, 2019 So yeah, Ibaka might get suspended. On the other side, the Cavaliers had a good night shooting the ball from outside. As a team, they made 18 three-pointers, with Kevin Love and Jordan Clarkson making three and Collin Sexton making four. Sexton would lead all scorers with 28 points. The Raptors, meanwhile, got a nice game from Kawhi but not much else. Leonard had a team-high 25 points on 11-for-19 shooting, adding nine rebounds and two assists. Pascal Siakam had 15 points, but struggled with his outside shot (0-for-4) and his control in transition. Kevin Love was a smart foil for Siakam in this one, setting up for charges and controlling space to force Pascal into some uncomfortable plays. Elsewhere on the roster, though, the Raptors were looking for help. Marc Gasol started but scored just two points, as the team spent next to no time looking for him in offensive sets. Instead, it was the same old stuff the Raptors fall into when they’re struggling — Norm Powell driving into traffic, strong side isolations without a pick set, some uninspired cutting late in the clock. Apart from Kyle Lowry’s 14, nobody else for the Raptors scored in double digits. That says a lot. Cleveland was up from the get-go. Jumping out to a 10-4 lead, the Raptors responded with a pair of triples from Lowry and Leonard, forcing the first timeout of the game. Cleveland answered with an 8-0 run of their own, as they built a lead they wouldn’t give up for the rest of the game. A nice energy stretch from OG Anunoby kept the Raptors within striking distance, as a steal and a block led to a couple runout opportunities. Toronto wasn’t able to get an extended run going, though, as the Cavaliers went up 31-26 early in the second. Late in the first half, both Danny Green and Serge Ibaka went down uncomfortably on the same play, with Green clutching at his ankle for a moment before walking it off. Green would play just 20 minutes in this one and may be someone to monitor over the next few days. Later in the game, Kyle Lowry would similarly go down with a twisted ankle — showing that the cost of a bad game might go a bit further than just tonight. In the end, it was a bit formulaic. The Raptors did one or two good things, but never sustained. The Cavaliers would hit a big three to keep them at bay. In the fourth, they broke it open, giving the game its final score. Next up for Toronto are the Los Angeles Lakers, who come to town on Thursday night.<doc-sep>C+ P. Siakam 29 MIN, 15 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 6-13 FG, 0-4 3FG, 3-3 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -15 +/- Super quiet second half. Was hamstrung by his foul trouble and couldn’t find his looks in the half-court. First disappointing game in some time. A- K. Leonard 31 MIN, 25 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 11-19 FG, 3-8 3FG, 0-3 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -8 +/- The Cavs didn’t have anyone to throw at him in particular and he was pretty sharp creating for himself. No complaints about his overall floor game, save for a couple potential passes he looked off. D M. Gasol 22 MIN, 2 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 1-6 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-1 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, -11 +/- The scouting report was out on him in this one. The Cavs sat on the cutters when Gasol got his elbow touches, and they forced him to create offense for himself, which usually ended up with him passing out. He’s clearly reluctant to grind in the paint on offense right now, hopefully that changes as we inch closer to the playoffs. He was bad on defense tonight. A- K. Lowry 30 MIN, 14 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 5-8 FG, 4-7 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, -14 +/- Sucks to waste a good Lowry game, and he was good. Lots of effort at the point of attack on defense (which was unique to him) and he was aggressive getting into the heart of the Cavs defense. He also shot the ball well, can’t complain. C D. Green 20 MIN, 5 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-5 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -12 +/- With so much disfunction from the Raptors tonight, a role player like Green isn’t going to bust the game open. The Raptors struggled to run a coherent offense and he got lost in the shuffle. B+ O. Anunoby 26 MIN, 8 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 3-6 FG, 1-3 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -11 +/- Genuinely liked his game tonight. Liked the physical defense he played on the perimeter, and he was aggressive on offense. We’re still waiting for him to piece the 3 major facets of his game together (Rim-running, 3-pt shooting, and defense) in consecutive games, but this could be a good step forward. D J. Lin 21 MIN, 8 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-9 FG, 1-5 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -15 +/- He was bad, man. No silver lining for his play right now as he struggles to find any rhythm as a pseudo-lead guard off the bench. The compete level on defense is of little consolation, and it doesn’t distract from the fact that he looks really inept running the offense. He’s capable, just in a funk. His game will be very happy to have Fred VanVleet back. C- P. McCaw 19 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -5 +/- Somewhat similar to Green, in that there’s only room for him as a complimentary piece, and there was nothing of note to compliment tonight. Had a nice steal and run-out where he found Gasol under the rim. D N. Powell 19 MIN, 9 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-8 FG, 0-3 3FG, 1-1 FT, 0 BLK, 5 TO, -18 +/- Volatile. He scored a couple easy buckets when he beat the Cavs defense up the floor, but when the ball was in his hands it was abject horror. Pretty shaky defense as well, which is something he’s definitely in control of. Inc S. Ibaka 17 MIN, 8 PTS, 7 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-6 FG, 0-2 3FG, 2-3 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -4 +/- He was actually far and away the best big besides Kevin Love in this game, but he got into a fight, which is wild. Hopefully his suspension is short, because I’m not thrilled to see the pick n’ roll decimate Gasol and Boucher for an extended period of time. Inc M. Miller 4 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-1 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -6 +/- Keep shooting it man. Want more minutes for him.<doc-sep>Share this Story: WOZ BLOG: With nothing to lose, sassy Cavaliers teach Raptors a lesson WOZ BLOG: With nothing to lose, sassy Cavaliers teach Raptors a lesson Article content CLEVELAND – What a difference a day can make. Everyone expected the Raptors to have the “South Beach Flu” after spending some time in Miami, yet the team came out and played one of its best games of the season on Sunday. But then they turned around against the NBA’s third-worst team and showed little fight or sharpness and got drubbed to the point that I was having playoff series flashbacks (Channing Frye and Kevin Love connecting from deep, the crowd going berserk, etc.) even though LeBron James and Kyrie Irving are long gone. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or WOZ BLOG: With nothing to lose, sassy Cavaliers teach Raptors a lesson Back to video The young Cavaliers are brash and full of piss and vinegar. They might stink, but they have a good time. They celebrated three-pointers and dunks during the game with vigour and went out and played hard. “We didn’t play up to the level we should have played to, we played down,” said Raptors all-star Kyle Lowry afterward.”They played their butts off tonight, good for them.” Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content And Toronto didn’t. Whether it was allowing forays into the paint, fouling like crazy or settling for mid-range shots more than at almost any other point of the season (the shot chart doesn’t lie) it was not a good effort. Centre Marc Gasol summed up the different paths these two clubs are on, one a squad aiming for a championship, or at least the conference final at a minimum, the other just playing it out trying to make an impression for next year. “They are playing now for another reason and we’ve got to tighten up and do better,” Gasol said. “Communication. We’re working for something different (and need to show it).” Nick Nurse had predicted before the Miami game that you can’t make an assumption that a team will play badly based on its record. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content “Whatever it is, there’s a lot of teams playing very well. It doesn’t really matter if you’re playing someone at the top, middle or bottom because the intensity that teams seem to be playing all around the league makes every night a great experience and a great learning experience,” Nurse had said. The atmosphere was weird even before the Serge Ibaka-Marquese Chriss dustup. It was a chippy game and not so shockingly Tony Brothers and his crew didn’t appear to have a great handle on things from the jump. A bunch of stuff added up. Even veterans like Canadian Tristan Thompson had a lot to say, which probably irked the Raptors (who, as a reminder from the top have a ton of bad memories of getting thumped in Cleveland). Add this one to the ledger. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content USE OF LEONARD Nurse was asked whether Kawhi Leonard would continue the two games on, one game off, dance the rest of the way? “We’ve kind of looked at it all the way through now. I think there are maybe a few games yet that he’s probably going to stay out,” Nurse said. “We’re just super happy with where we are with it and we feel like we’re ahead of the game and we don’t want to get level or even behind the game heading into the most important time of the year. This is the way we’re going to do it.” A follow-up queried whether there is a risk of Leonard missing a playoff game or two, if games get bunched together. “The one thing we have is I think we end (the regular season) with every other day for three weeks to end the season. That will be good practice for that,” Nurse said, declining to get into specifics. THREE STARS From Cleveland 1 Collin Sexton 2 Kevin Love 3 Kawhi Leonard From Miami 1 Kyle Lowry 2 Patrick McCaw 3 Danny Green Share this article in your social network Latest National Stories Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Toronto Sun Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Toronto SUN, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it please check your junk folder. The next issue of The Toronto Sun Headline News will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again Trending<doc-sep>CLEVELAND – Collin Sexton scored 28 points, Kevin Love had 16 points and 18 rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers routed the Toronto Raptors 126-101 on Monday night. Toronto’s Serge Ibaka and Cleveland’s Marquese Chriss were ejected for fighting late in the third quarter. Ibaka went to the floor after the two were battling for position under Cleveland’s basket as the Raptors attempted a full-court pass that sailed out of bounds. Ibaka shoved Chriss from behind and grabbed near his neck before throwing a punch. Chriss responded with a punch before players from both teams separated the two. Ibaka immediately headed for the locker room and both players were kicked out after the officials conferred. Ibaka hit the court hard in the second quarter after being fouled by Chriss after scoring on a rebound. Story continues below advertisement Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points after sitting out Sunday’s victory in Miami, but his return didn’t help the Raptors, who have the league’s second-best record. Cedi Osman scored 19 points and Ante Zizic had 17 for Cleveland, which placed six players in double figures. Leonard was 11 of 19 from the field, but the Raptors only led briefly in the first half. Cleveland was ahead for most of the half and outscored Toronto 32-22 in the third quarter. Cleveland took command in the fourth and went ahead 108-88 midway through the period. The Cavaliers build the lead to 27 points late in the game. Kyle Lowry scored 14 points for the Raptors. Toronto (48-20) trails Milwaukee by 2 1/2 games for the best record in the league. Toronto rolled to a 125-104 win over the Heat without Leonard, tying a franchise record with 21 3-pointers and outscoring Miami 63-24 from beyond the arc. Leonard, averaging 27.1 points going into the game, hasn’t appeared in more than two consecutive games since playing in five straight from Jan. 25 through Feb. 5. The Raptors, showing signs of being tired in their third straight road game, struggled throughout the game. Toronto fell behind by 10 points and committed 11 turnovers leading to 13 points for the Cavaliers. Story continues below advertisement Cleveland coach Larry Drew said before the game Love, who hasn’t played in back-to-back games since returning from foot surgery, will sit out Tuesday in Philadelphia.<doc-sep>
Even with Kawhi Leonard back in the lineup, the best fight Toronto put up in Cleveland was when Serge Ibaka threw a punch at Marquese Chriss. Ibaka and Chriss were ejected for fighting during the Cavaliers' 126-101 victory over the Raptors on Monday night. [SIMILAR[ Leonard scored 25 points after sitting out Sunday's game, but the team with the league's second-best record trailed most of the way. Collin Sexton scored 28 points and Kevin Love had 16 points and 18 rebounds for Cleveland, which dominated the second half and seemed to gain momentum after the fight with a second left in the third quarter. Ibaka went to the floor after he and Chriss were battling for position under Cleveland's basket as the Raptors attempted a full-court pass that sailed out of bounds. WATCH | Highlights from Cleveland's win Game Wrap: Ibaka ejected for fighting in Raptors loss Sports 1:49 Cleveland beat Toronto 126-102, Marquese Chriss and Serge Ibaka tossed for fighting late in 3rd quarter. 1:49 Ibaka shoved Chriss from behind and grabbed near his neck before throwing a punch. Chriss responded with a punch before players from both teams separated the two. Ibaka immediately headed for the locker room and both players were kicked out after the officials conferred. "I saw it out of the corner of my eye," Love said. "It happened so fast. Everybody almost wants to run out there and check what's going on. It was broken up quick. That's usually how it goes." Neither player was available for comment following the game. A Raptors spokesman said Ibaka was reacting to something Chriss said to him after the Toronto player was knocked to the floor. WATCH | Ibaka, Chriss ejected for fighting: Raptors' Ibaka, Cavs' Chriss ejected for fighting Sports 1:07 Serge Ibaka and Marquese Chriss exchange punches late in the 3rd quarter of the Raptors/Cavaliers game. 1:07 Cleveland held a 91-77 lead when the fight occurred and poured it on in the fourth quarter. Toronto coach Nick Nurse pulled his starters as the Cavaliers pulled away and the lead reached 27 points with just under a minute to play. "That was a great win for us," Love said. "Especially against a real good team at home. It was fun." Cedi Osman scored 19 points and Ante Zizic had 17 for Cleveland, which placed six players in double figures. Leonard was 11 of 19 from the field, but the Raptors only led briefly in the first half. "They did a great job, they played well, and they made open shots," Leonard said. "That's pretty much the way the game played out." Kyle Lowry scored 14 points for the Raptors. Toronto (48-20) trails Milwaukee by 2 1/2 games for the best record in the league. Toronto's Kyle Lowry and Cleveland's Jordan Jackson battle for a loose ball on Monday. (Tony Dejak/Associated Press) Toronto rolled to a 125-104 win over the Heat without Leonard, tying a franchise record with 21 3-pointers and outscoring Miami 63-24 from beyond the arc. Leonard, averaging 27 points this season, hasn't appeared in more than two consecutive games since playing in five straight from Jan. 25 through Feb. 5. The Raptors, showing signs of being tired in their third straight road game, struggled throughout the game. Toronto fell behind by 10 points and committed 11 turnovers leading to 13 points for the Cavaliers. Cleveland coach Larry Drew said before the game Love, who hasn't played in back-to-back games since returning from foot surgery, will sit out Tuesday in Philadelphia.