NBA: Raptors win low-scoring Game 4 over Cavaliers to level series

Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes each scored 23 points on Sunday afternoon as the Toronto Raptors held off the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers, 93-89, to even their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at 2-2.

Game 5 will be played Wednesday in Cleveland.

RJ Barrett added 18 points for Toronto, while Collin Murray-Boyles finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jakob Poeltl contributed 10 points in the win.

For Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points, with 12 coming in the fourth quarter. James Harden added 19 points but struggled with seven turnovers. Jarrett Allen recorded three points and a game-high 15 rebounds, while Sam Merrill chipped in 14 points.

Toronto entered the fourth quarter with a two-point lead. Barrett extended that advantage with a 10-foot floater, putting the Raptors up by six with 9:28 remaining. Mitchell answered with back-to-back 3-pointers, tying the game at 74 and later giving Cleveland a six-point lead with 5:14 left.

Cleveland pushed its lead to eight after Mitchell hit two free throws with 4:55 remaining. Ingram responded with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two with 2:36 left, but Merrill quickly answered with a three of his own.

Barrett’s bank shot trimmed the margin to one with 49 seconds remaining. After a Cavaliers turnover, Barnes converted two free throws to give Toronto the lead. Mitchell then missed a floater, and Barnes secured the rebound with 23 seconds left. Barnes added two more free throws to extend the lead before Mitchell missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer.

Barrett added a late free throw to push the lead to four. Merrill responded with a 22-foot jumper to cut it to two, but Barnes sealed the victory with two free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining.

Barnes finished with a strong all-around performance, adding nine rebounds, six assists, and three blocks. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and was perfect on six free throws in the final 34.6 seconds.

“Scottie is going to be one of the best players in the league,” Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said. “He’s already one of the best players in the league. But how much he cares about winning is what pushes him forward. That’s what makes him so special.”

Barnes, however, emphasized the team effort over individual recognition.

“I think that’s what makes our bond so tight,” Barnes said. “We’re focusing on how we can grow together. We’re trying to do it together, communicating every day on and off the court, and continuing to build that connection.”

Cleveland led 17-14 after a turnover-heavy first quarter.

Toronto struggled early from beyond the arc, missing its first 14 3-point attempts before Barrett finally connected with 8:31 left in the second quarter to cut the deficit to four. Cleveland later built an eight-point lead on Mitchell’s 3-pointer, but Toronto closed the half on a 10-0 run, capped by Ingram’s triple, to take a 38-36 lead at halftime.

Both teams shot poorly in the first half, with Cleveland finishing 15 of 45 (33.3%) and Toronto 15 of 54 (27.8%) from the field.

“We had trouble scoring all game, but so did they,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “It was one of those games. I love our guys’ fight. We competed hard. They won the possession battle by 15, and that’s tough to overcome. We’ve got to fix that in Game 5.”

Harden briefly gave Cleveland momentum in the third quarter with two free throws that put the Cavaliers up by eight with 4:38 remaining. Toronto responded and eventually took a 60-58 lead into the fourth quarter after Sandro Mamukelashvili’s layup with 45 seconds left in the third.

Despite shooting just 13.3% (4 of 30) from 3-point range, Toronto stayed in the game by converting 27 free throws compared to Cleveland’s 15. The Cavaliers also shot 65.2% (15 of 23) from the foul line.

“It’s about being more aggressive and taking advantage of opportunities,” Harden said. “Nobody could really get it going offensively, but we have to control the things we can—closing quarters better and limiting second-chance points.” -Field Level Media/Reuters