The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to amaze us this year. They have just demolished the Toronto Raptors, 144:99 in their largest margin win in a long time. The team was led by Darius Garland and Kevin Love who topped the scoring list with 22 points each. Lauri Markkanen, Ricky Rubio, Dean Wade, and Denzel Valentine also surpassed the 15-point mark.
The Toronto Raptors came into this game with just 8 players available in their roster. They were without Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby who were all sidelined due to COVID-19. Hence, Chris Boucher and Yuta Watanabe took the main responsibility for the Raptors.
Tonight’s @invisalign Starting Lineup pic.twitter.com/rUR38N862o
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) December 26, 2021
The game started off well for the Raptors who were leading at some point in 1st quarter. However, it all went south for them in the second part of the first half which they lost, 37:21. This was just the beginning of the end for them as the Cavs didn’t take off their foot off the throttle.
Garland, Markkanen, Rubio, and Love led the way for their team in 3rd quarter, increasing the lead to 40 points, 118:78. In the last 12 minutes of the match, the Cavs gave more chance to their bench players like Tacko Fall, RJ Nembhard Jr., and Trevon Scott. They seized the opportunity and contributed for the final result, 144:99.
Leading the charge 🙌@dariusgarland22 (22 PTS), @kevinlove (22 PTS) and @MarkkanenLauri (20 PTS) lift the @cavs to the big home W! pic.twitter.com/PEa67tEXmF
— NBA (@NBA) December 27, 2021
The Cavaliers are surprisingly 5th in the East so far with a fantastic 20-13 record. They are ahead of teams like the Philadelphia 76ers, the Boston Celtics, the Atlanta Hawks, and the New York Knicks. In their last two games for the year, they go on the road to face off the New Orleans Pelicans and the Washington Wizards.
The Raptors occupy the unattractive 11th place with 14 wins and 16 losses. They will need all of their top players to come together and to try to clinch a Playoffs spot in the end of the season. They will host the Philadelphia 76ers and the LA Clippers to wrap up this year.
