Cavaliers vs. Raptors: Game 6 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs
The home team won the first five games of the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Cleveland Cavaliers bucked the trend with a series-clinching 113-87 victory over the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre on Friday night.
The Cavaliers are now headed to their second consecutive NBA Finals, while LeBron James will make his sixth straight appearance with a Larry O'Brien Trophy on the line. According to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst, James and teammate James Jones are the first players to qualify for six straight Finals since Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics did so in the 1960s.
Adi Joseph of Sporting News put James' historic run into perspective:
James, who played 41 minutes before sitting for the final 3:06 of the contest, finished with 33 points (13-of-22 shooting, 3-of-6 from three), 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocks in a signature closeout performance. Game 6 also marked the first time he has topped 30 points in a postseason game this year.
NBA.com's John Schuhmann noted James' performance throughout the series could shift some narratives:
And as was the case in Game 5, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love provided plenty of reinforcements. Irving poured in 30 points (12-of-24 shooting) and doled out a personal playoff-high nine assists, while Love tallied 20 points and 12 boards for his fifth 20-point, 10-rebound performance of the postseason.
The Cavaliers are now 8-0 this year, including 6-0 in the playoffs, when James, Irving and Love score 20 points in the same game.
J.R. Smith (15 points) and Channing Frye (six points) were also superb on an evening when the Cavaliers shot 17-of-31 from three-point range.
DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry did the heavy lifting for the Raptors with 20 and 35 points, respectively, but they didn't find their groove until it was too late. As a team, the Raptors shot just 41.8 percent from the field and 8-of-25 from beyond the arc.
James told reporters the Cavaliers needed "urgency from the start," according to Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon, and he held up his end of the bargain with 14 first-quarter points on 5-of-6 shooting. James also converted two threes during his opening statement—the same number he made in the series' first four games combined.
His most emphatic two points during that stretch came on a rim-rocking lob in transition courtesy of his floor general:
The first quarter also featured some drama. Raptors center Bismack Biyombo caught Love with an elbow after snatching an offensive rebound, and he was subsequently slapped with a flagrant-1 that could have had far-reaching consequences:
Biyombo picked up his fourth flagrant point of the postseason from the elbow, per the Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman, which meant he would have been subjected to an automatic one-game suspension if the league upholds the ruling. But because the Raptors were unable to convert a slew of open looks throughout the first half, Biyombo's Game 7 status is now moot.
Although Toronto was able to hang around throughout a foul-filled first half that was devoid of rhythm, the Cavaliers made a push over the final five minutes of the second quarter to build a 14-point lead at the break.
James was instrumental in facilitating the 16-8 burst. A corner three and baseline slam on back-to-back possessions put the Cavaliers up 11 with 4:28 to go in the half, and a pair of three-point possessions by Love and Irving with less than a minute remaining in the second frame punctuated what once appeared to be a lost period.
James, who played all but 37 seconds in the first half, per Cleveland.com's Chris Haynes, had arguably his most impressive 24-minute stretch of the postseason, as ESPN Stats & Info illustrated:
The Raptors tallied a 33-31 scoring edge in the third quarter thanks to 18 points in the stanza from Lowry, and the courageous scoring display appeared to give Toronto some life entering the fourth, per NBA.com/Stats:
But despite Lowry's best efforts, Toronto didn't have enough firepower to overcome a double-digit deficit and force a decisive Game 7.
The Cavaliers will now await the winner of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors.
Those two powerhouses will square off Saturday night in a win-or-go-home Game 6 for the Warriors at Chesapeake Energy Arena, but if the defending champions are able to stave off elimination again, momentum will have shifted in their favor entering Game 7 in the Bay Area.
Regardless of which team the Cavaliers do battle against, they have to feel good about their chances. James, Irving and Love are all locked in after stumbling in Games 3 and 4, and Frye and Smith's supplementary scoring has left defenses helpless.
Postgame Reaction
Following the final buzzer, James appeared emotional as he reflected on the season and the series in an interview with ESPN's Doris Burke:
The same was true for Irving during his postgame interview with Fox Sports Ohio:
The NBA's official Twitter account relayed video of the Cavaliers hoisting their new hardware:
The Raptors, meanwhile, took an optimistic view following the hard-fought loss.
"I really think we're a step ahead of the process... We still have a ways to go... That next step is the biggest one we have to take," Raptors head coach Dwane Casey told reporters, according to TSN's Josh Lewenberg.
"We're learning," Casey added, per CBSSports.com's James Herbert. "We're not where they are right now. We're gonna be."
Once the celebrations were over, Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue broke down his team's mindset entering Game 6, as NBA TV documented on Twitter:
"We are locked in," Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson added, per ESPN.com's Ohm Youngmisuk. "We are not poppin' bottles, we are not kissing babies."
"Whoever has them next has their hands full," Casey said, according to Raptors.com's Holly MacKenzie.
