November 20, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA Cleveland Cavaliers forward Georges Niang (20) celebrates after making a three-pointer during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images After successfully bouncing back from their first loss of the season, the NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers will look to end a rare win streak by the Raptors when they welcome Toronto to town on Sunday night.
The Raptors had lost seven straight games before beating the Indiana Pacers 130-119 on Monday and followed that up with a 110-105 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves three days later. It was the first time this season that Toronto has won together.
RJ Barrett scored 31 points with 7 rebounds, while Jakob Poeltl added 15 points and 12 boards. But it was Scottie Barnes who pushed the Raptors over the top, scoring nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter.
Before the seven-game skid, Toronto had a four-game losing streak earlier in the season. Although the Raptors are 4-12 to start the campaign, guard/forward Garrett Temple, one of Toronto’s few veterans, believes the team is better than its record indicates.
“It’s different if we’re 2-11 and eight of the games were blowouts,” Temple said before the Raptors’ modest streak. “We’re playing really, really good basketball and I think everybody understands how close we are to reaching that potential. …
“So I think that’s where the positivity comes from and it’s great to have all these young guys making jokes all the time.”
Cleveland, meanwhile, had plenty of reasons to be positive. A season-opening win over Toronto on Oct. 23 sparked a historic start for the Cavaliers, who went 15-0 before falling 120-117 to the defending champion Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
Only three other teams in NBA history — 1948-49 Washington Capitols, 1993-94 Houston Rockets, 2015-16 Warriors — have started a season with 15 straight wins. Golden State won its first 24 games to set a league record.
It didn’t take long for Cleveland to get the loss to Boston out of its system as the Cavaliers cruised to a 128-100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. Making the win even more impressive was that the Cavs were without starting guard Darius Garland with a groin injury, and star Donovan Mitchell scored just 10 points.
Ty Jerome stepped up for Cleveland, scoring a season-high 29 points while filling in for Garland. Georges Niang came off the bench to score 20 points.
Garland is not on the injury report ahead of the meeting with Toronto.
The Cavaliers were also without Caris LeVert (knee), Isaac Okoro (ankle) and Dean Wade (ankle) on Wednesday, prompting Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson to stick rookie Jaylon Tyson in the starting lineup.
Tyson responded with 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in 37 minutes of action. He had never played more than eight minutes in an NBA game.
“We have to start Jaylon because it’s important for a young guy to be around vets to start,” Atkinson said. “And I thought it was great.”
–Within field level