CLEVELAND -- After trailing by as many as 15 points in the second half, the Cleveland Cavaliers completed a comeback to beat the first-place Toronto Raptors 132-129 at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday night.
LeBron James scored 35 points to go along with 17 assists, 7 rebounds and no turnovers for the Cavs, who were playing without five rotation players against Toronto. Kevin Love added 23 and George Hill scored 22 for Cleveland.
What follows is a running recap of the Cavs' Wednesday night victory in what was a potential preview of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Fourth quarter
27.5 seconds: Cavs 128, Raptors 124: LeBron drives and finds Kevin Love for a 3-pointer on his 17th assist of the night on what may have just iced this game.
3:32: Cavs 119, Raptors 118: Cavs and Raptors going back and forth with LeBron jawing with the Toronto bench following a dunk to put the Cavs up 1.
6:01: Cavs 112, Raptors 112: Hot shooting from the Cavs helps keep the game close and a LeBron James (26 points, 14 assists) dunk ties the game with 6 minutes remaining.
Third quarter
End of quarter: Raptors 99, Cavs 98: Strong finish to the quarter for the Cavs, with a J.R. Smith 3 trimming the Raptors' advantage to 1 entering the 4th.
2:31: Raptors 95, Cavs 88: Cavs amass a comeback, trimming the Raptors lead to 5, but their lack of interiro defense is still apparent. Going to take a superhuman effort from LeBron.
7:56: Raptors 85, Cavs 73: Cavs get a strong start to the second half and chip away, but only manage to cut the Raptors' advantage to 12 four minutes in.
Second quarter
End of quarter: Raptors close the half on a 15-7 run, stretching their lead to 15 points as a Fred Vanvleet 3-point at the buzzer closes the high-scoring second half.
3:09: Raptors 64, Cavs 57: Raptors go on a big run aided by a strong bench effort (32 points) but a LeBron layup over Kyle Lowry helps stop the bleeding.
8:46: Cavs 46, Raptors 46: Offense slowing down a bit as both teams go to their bench units. LeBron off the court for Cleveland, making the next few minutes crucial.
First quarter
End of quarter: Cavs 42, Raptors 38: 8 first-quarter assists for LeBron as the Cavs offense gives them a slgiht edge.
3:08: Cavs 36, Raptors 30: Both teams have combined for 26-32 shooting. LeBron has 7 assists already. Just an insane offensive display for both teams.
6:46: Raptors 22, Cavs 18: Hot start for both teams, with the Raptors shooting 8 of 9 from the field and the Cavs shooting 8 of 10. Cavs showing plenty of energy early, but Toronto simply matching them bucket for bucket.
Pregame:
C.J. Miles out for Toronto with an illness.
Tristan Thompson and Rodney Hood are out. Cavs starting lineup will consist of LeBron, Kevin Love, Jose Calderon, Jeff Green and George Hill.