CLEVELAND -- After a slow start to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Toronto Raptors at Quicken Loans Arena Tuesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers went to their bench, and the reserves helped turn the tide in their 115-84 win.
On the way to their ninth straight postseason game, the Cavaliers got a lift in the second quarter, and the bench players helped key a 22-7 run that put the game out of reach for good.
“Well, the game ball definitely goes to our bench,” Cavaliers small forward LeBron James said. “I mean, you look at plus-24, 20, 18, 17, all the way down, those guys gave us a boost in that second quarter, and I was out there with them, but Channing, Shump, Delly and R.J., at that moment, they pushed the tempo.
“You just got to work at it. In practices, we do a lot of work together, but we've got some very smart, cerebral players. Coach Lue is able to mix and match some lineups that he feels best fits, and that's one of the lineups that's been working pretty good for us throughout this postseason that we did not use in the regular season.
“We've got to continue to work our habits. It's not going to always be as great as it was in the second quarter, where we outscored them, 33-16, but we've got to continue to work at it and continue to see ways we can help each other, and if we do that, we'll be fine.”
With just a five-point lead after the first quarter of play, the Cavaliers more than doubled up the Raptors, 33-16, in the second period.
“I thought our bench came in and was great,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. “I thought our bench came in defensively, they were great. They were active and physical, and then, we also got out in transition and made shots. It was great for us. We needed a lift. We had a rough start to start the game and our bench came in and did a phenomenal job.”
During an early timeout in the game, Lue reminded the Cavaliers to pick up the aggressiveness and intensity, a suggestion they followed to a tee in the win.
“We just talked about it in the timeout, just being more aggressive, being more physical, one through five,” Lue said. “We know they have a physical team. DeRozan loves to post up. Kyle (Lowry) is physical at the point guard position.
“DeMarre Carroll is physical. Biyombo is physical. We just know we had to pick our physicality up, and I think once we did that, once the second unit came in, we got a chance to pick our defense and our physicality up.”
Raising the level of physicality proved to be critical for the Cavaliers, as they held a 45-23 edge in rebounding, including a 10-4 advantage on the offensive end of the floor, something they look to bring into Game 2 tonight.
“We've always been a great rebounding team,” Lue said. “I think with Tristan and Kevin, LeBron's rebounding ability, Richard Jefferson had 10 rebounds. Iman Shumpert is a great rebounder. We have always been a good rebounding team, and if we can get stops and get rebounds, we can get out and run in transition.”
