DeMar DeRozan on Cavaliers' Sweep of Raptors: 'Maybe They Just Got Our Number'

"Maybe they just got our number."

That is what Toronto Raptors All-Star DeMar DeRozan said after his team lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a playoff series for the third straight year. Cleveland finished its sweep of the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed Monday with a commanding 128-93 victory in Game 4 at Quicken Loans Arena, and DeRozan granted things have not gone well against LeBron James and Co.

"The last three years have been rough for us, competing against this team," he said, per NBA TV:

It wasn't supposed to be this way for the Raptors, at least not this time.

They finished the 2017-18 season with a 59-23 record—the best in franchise history—and watched the Cavaliers struggle in a seven-game slugfest just to advance past the Indiana Pacers in the first round. Toronto had home-court advantage and the depth to test the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions and jumped out to a double-digit lead in Game 1.

However, it all came falling apart when Jonas Valanciunas missed a tip-in that would have won that first contest in regulation. Cleveland prevailed in overtime, and James eventually ripped Toronto's heart out in Game 3 with a buzzer-beater after the Raptors came roaring back from a double-digit deficit to tie it.

The writing was already on the wall before Monday's Game 4, and the fact that DeRozan was ejected for a flagrant-2 foul on Jordan Clarkson only added salt to the wound. He had 13 points, while All-Star backcourt mate Kyle Lowry had a mere five.

James spearheaded Cleveland's effort with 29 points, 11 assists and eight boards and extended his team's postseason winning streak over DeRozan and the Raptors to 10 games in the process.