May 21, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) dribbles the ball past Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) in game three of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
By Larry Millson, The Sports Xchange
TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-84 Saturday night in Game 3 for their first win of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Cavaliers lead the series 2-1 in games. They did not lose a game in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The Raptors led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter, we ahead by 13 at half time and took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Toronto led by 15 points early in the fourth. The Cavaliers cut that to eight before Raptors center Bismack Biyombo made six successive points to increase the lead to 14 with 3:38 to play.
Kyle Lowry added 20 points for the Raptors, Cory Joseph had 14, DeMarre Carroll 10, and Patrick Patterson 10. Biyombo grabbed a franchise playoff record 26 rebounds and added seven points and four blocks.
LeBron James scored 24 points for the Cavaliers, who won the first two games of the series in Cleveland. J.R. Smith added 22 for Cleveland while Kyrie Irving had 13 and Channing Frye 11.
DeRozan’s apparent 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the first quarter was waved off after a review showed time had expired. Toronto settled for a 27-24 lead entering the second quarter.
Lowry picked up his third foul of the game with 8:07 left in the second quarter.
Joseph’s 3-pointer with 4:09 to play in the second quarter gave the Raptors a 49-37 lead. After a Cavaliers’ miss, Carroll made a 3-point shot for a 15-point Toronto lead. Patterson’s layup with 1:22 to play boosted the advantage to 18.
James closed the half with a 3-pointer and the Raptors led 60-47.
Biyombo had no points but grabbed 16 first-half rebounds for Toronto. DeRozan led all scorers in the first half with 21 points. James led Cleveland with 14.
The Cavaliers opened the second half on a surge and had the lead down to six with 9:44 to play in the third quarter when James made a free throw after he was fouled making a layup.
After the Raptors went up by 11, Smith hit two straight 3-pointers to trim the lead to five with 4:20 to play in the third.
Joseph hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter to give Toronto an 80-70 lead.
The Raptors scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to go up by 15.
Richard Jefferson made a layup with 6:38 to play to cut Toronto’s lead to 10.
Biyombo’s hook shot put Toronto ahead by 12 points with 4:39 to play and his layup extended the lead to 91-77.
Biyombo was called for a flagrant foul on James and the two free throws cut the lead to 12 but the Cavaliers could not take advantage of their possession awarded after the foul shots.
Joseph’s pullup jumper with 1:38 to play restored Toronto’s 14-point lead.
NOTES: Cavaliers G Matthew Dellavedova (sore left ankle) participated in the shootaround Saturday morning and was declared fit to play in Game 3. He injured the ankle in Game 2 at Cleveland on Thursday. … Raptors C Jonas Valanciunas (sprained right ankle) remained out of the lineup for Game 3. … Saturday was the first time the Raptors had played a Game 3 of a playoff series at home since 2008 when they defeated the Orlando Magic 108-94. … The Cavaliers have never lost a series after going up 2-0. They are 10-0 in those series. … Game 4 will be played Monday at Air Canada Centre.
