Cavaliers 103, Raptors 92: Rookie Dion Waiters paced six players in double figures with 23 points and host Cleveland held off a late rally by Toronto.
Shaun Livingston scored 15 points and Tristan Thompson added 14 points and eight rebounds as the Cavaliers won for the fourth time in five games and snapped a four-game home losing streak to the Raptors despite playing without leading scorer Kyrie Irving.
DeMar DeRozan poured in 34 points and Rudy Gay added 24 for Toronto, which led by 14 points in the opening quarter before tumbling to its second straight defeat and third in nine games.
Cleveland erased a 23-9 first-quarter deficit and led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter en route to a 57-48 halftime edge. The Cavaliers used a 13-0 burst spanning the third and fourth quarters to move ahead 86-71.
The Raptors countered with nine unanswered points to cut the deficit to 86-80 and got within three on a basket by Gay with 1:54 to play, but Waiters and Alonzo Gee hit back-to-back baskets to push the lead to 97-90.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Wayne Ellington and Marreese Speights had 13 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench as Cleveland's reserves outscored Toronto's bench 40-8. ... Irving sat out his second straight game with a hyperextended right knee. ... PG Sebastian Telfair, acquired from Phoenix at the trade deadline, made his debut with Toronto and was scoreless with four fouls in seven minutes.
Toronto | Cleveland | |
DeMar DeRozan 34 | Scoring | Dion Waiters 23 |
Kyle Lowry 8 | Assists | Luke Walton 7 |
Amir Johnson 9 | Rebounds | Marreese Speights 9 |
DeMar DeRozan 14 | Free Throws Made | Shaun Livingston 7 |
Rudy Gay 1 | Steals | Wayne Ellington 3 |
Amir Johnson 4 | Blocks | Shaun Livingston 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Toronto | 92 | 44.9 | 2-20 | 20-25 | 25 | 38 | 8 | 3 | 15 |
Cleveland | 103 | 41.5 | 5-13 | 30-32 | 26 | 40 | 5 | 7 | 11 |