Cavaliers Beat Raptors 108-89 In Game 2 Of Conference Finals To Gain 2-0 Series Lead

Led by a triple-double from LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers dominated in the second half to secure a 108-89 home victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night in Game 2 of the NBA Conference Finals to jump to a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series. They defeated the Raptors 115-84 in Game 1 on Tuesday.

Cavaliers Beat Raptors 108-89 In Game 2

The Cavaliers remain undefeated in the 2016 playoffs with a 10-0 winning run through 2 1/2 rounds of play, thus joining the 1989 and 2001 Los Angeles Lakers and the 2012 San Antonio Spurs as the fourth team ever to win its first 10 postseason games. Only the 2001 Lakers ended up winning the NBA title, however.

James led the Cavs with 23 points on 7-for-13 shooting with 11 rebounds, 11 assists and three steals in just 34 minutes of play. That was the 15th triple-double of his postseason career, second all-time only to Magic Johnson. James secured the triple-double by running down rebound No. 10 with 8:01 left in the game. LeBron also missed eight out of 17 free throws.

Toronto and Cleveland were tied at 46 with 4:05 remaining in the second quarter, but the Cavaliers ended the first half with a 16-2 run. The Raptors were unable to get the deficit back into single digits. The Cavs also outscored the Raptors 50-28 in the paint, and shot 23 of 46 (50 percent) from the field, while the Raptors shot 46 of 76 from the field.

“I don’t think it feels like a streak,” James said of the Cavs’ rampage through the playoffs. “It feels like we won one game, we won the next game. We’ve taken one step at a time. We’ve tried to take care of business.”

Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 26 points and Kevin Love added 19 points for Cleveland, which has now beaten Toronto by a combined 50 points in two games. Irving also had four rebounds and three assists in 37 minutes.

DeMar DeRozan scored 22 for the Raptors, while All-Star guard Kyle Lowry struggled, adding just 10 points and shooting 4-of-14 from the field. Lowry also finished with five turnovers.

The Raptors appeared confident Lowry will shoot his way out of his slump.

“We still believe in him,” forward DeMarre Carroll said. “He’s going to show up once we get home. Sometimes you go through a rough stretch. I believe once he gets back home, he’ll knock down those shots.”

The Raptors also seemed upset about being called for 31 fouls compared to 16 for the Cavs.

This was the first time this postseason the Raptors lost consecutive games. After knocking out both the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks, the Cavaliers continue to prove their game is strong.

Game 3 will be held in Toronto on Saturday night.

PHOTO: CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 19: Matthew Dellavedova #8 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives to the basket during the first half against the Toronto Raptors in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena on May 19, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)