Raptors Vs Cavaliers: Toronto Faces 0-9 Cleveland Playoff Road Record in Game 5
The raptors vs cavaliers series is tied, but Toronto heads into Game 5 in Cleveland carrying an 0-9 playoff record inside Rocket Arena. The Raptors split the last two games at home, yet they still have not won a postseason road game against this opponent.
Rajakovic Wants One Road Win
Darko Rajakovic set the target plainly on Tuesday. “We still need to win the first game on the road,” he said, then added, “We’re not looking behind. We’re not looking to Game 6 or 7. We’re just focusing on the next game and everything that’s in our power, that we can control. We’ve got to go out and do that.”
That is the job now. Toronto has already dropped its first two games of the series by double digits, so the margin for error disappeared early and the road assignment became the whole story. Game 5 on Wednesday night in Cleveland gives the Raptors their first chance to change the pattern that has followed them into this building for nine playoff road games.
Toronto Defense Changed Games
The Raptors kept themselves alive with defense in Games 3 and 4. Cleveland shot 37 per cent from the field in Game 4, its worst showing in the series, and Toronto was still trailing 87-86 when Jamal Shead forced an eight-second violation on Donovan Mitchell with less than a minute left. That sequence left the game hanging on one possession.
Scottie Barnes has been the most complete Toronto player in the series, averaging 25.8 points, 7.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steals. After being asked whether the last two wins showed the Raptors something, he said, “I haven’t learned anything I didn’t know. I know we play hard, play aggressive, try to be physical,” and “We’ve just got to play our style of basketball.”
Mobley and Allen Set The Wall
Cleveland has still had stretches where its frontcourt changed the tone. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen combined for 10 rebounds in Game 3 and 11 points in Game 4, limiting Toronto’s room around the basket when the series shifted to the middle games. On the perimeter, James Harden and Mitchell averaged a combined 56 points in the first two games in Toronto, then were held to a combined average of 36 points there.
Turnovers have also kept the series tight. Toronto has turned the ball over 64 times in the first four games, while Cleveland has committed 71. That kind of sloppiness has kept both teams close enough for one run, one stop or one violation to tilt the night.
Toronto now has to turn that home-court split into a road answer. Rajakovic said, “This game is going start at 0-0, and who knows where it goes,” and the Raptors will need that reset to become a result, not just a quote.
