11:17 p.m.-LEBRON JAMES HITS BUZZER-BEAT CAVALIERS
CLEVELAND -- LeBron James hit a buzzer-beating shot to deliver the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 105-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena Saturday night.
Now, the Cavaliers have the Raptors on the ropes with a chance to finish their season for the third consecutive year on Monday night.
Behind a record-breaking night from James (38 points, seven assists and six rebounds), the Cavaliers withstood a furious second-half rally from the Raptors and claimed the victory in front of the home fans.
James led the Cavaliers in scoring and assists for the 11th consecutive playoff game, which broke the previous record of 10 straight contests set by National Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson.
In addition to James, the Cavaliers got a double-double of 21 points and 16 rebounds from center Kevin Love, as well as double-digit scoring productivity from shooting guard Kyle Korver (18), point guard George Hill (12) and reserve forward Jeff Green (11).
10:34 p.m.-CAVALIERS LEAD RAPTORS, 79-65, AFTER THIRD QUARTER
CLEVELAND -- Although the Cleveland Cavaliers had a slow start to the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals, they picked things up in a hurry in front of the home fans at Quicken Loans Arena, and center Kevin Love was a big reason why.
With 12 points at halftime, Love continued to demand the ball and helped the Cavaliers grow the lead over the Toronto Raptors to 16 points, 77-61, with 2:16 to play in the third quarter of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena Saturday night.
Love scored nine points and pulled down four rebounds in the quarter.
Late in the quarter, Love made three hook shots, including two turnaround hooks and converted an and-one after he was fouled on one of the makes.
In addition to Love, the Cavaliers got seven points from small forward LeBron James, who handed out one assist and stole two passes in the third quarter.
10:28 p.m.-KEVIN LOVE BEGINNING TO DOMINATE PLAY IN GAME 3
CLEVELAND -- Maligned for his inconsistent play during the first eight games of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs, Cleveland Cavaliers center Kevin Love is playing like the post who earned All-Star status in each of the last two seasons.
With 12 points at halftime, Love continued to demand the ball and helped the Cavaliers grow the lead over the Toronto Raptors to 16 points, 77-61, with 2:16 to play in the third quarter of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena Saturday night.
Love scored nine points and pulled down four rebounds in the quarter.
Late in the quarter, Love made three hook shots, including two turnaround hooks and converted an and-one after he was fouled on one of the makes.
10:19 p.m.-CAVALIERS LEAD RAPTORS BY 11 IN THIRD QUARTER
CLEVELAND -- The Toronto Raptors started the second half on a 12-2 scoring run, but the Cleveland Cavaliers found their three-point shot and put the lead back up to double digits, 68-57, at the 5:36 mark of the third quarter in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena.
After the Raptors trimmed the deficit down to five points, 57-52, with three free throws from guard Fred VanVleet, the Cavaliers went to work from three-point range
Point guard George Hill got things going when he caught a pass in the left corner of the floor from small forward LeBron James and swished a three-pointer despite heavy pressure from a Raptors defender that was closing out on the ball.
On the Cavaliers’ next trip down the floor, shooting guard Kyle Korver buried a three-pointer that put the lead back up to 11.
James scored on driving layup 90 seconds later and forced the Raptors into calling a timeout.
9:46 p.m.-CAVS LEAD RAPTORS, 55-40, AT HALFTIME OF GAME 3
CLEVELAND -- There was no first-half letdown from the Cleveland Cavaliers after coming home with a two-game lead over the Toronto Raptors in the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena Saturday night.
The Cavaliers rode their strong shooting in the second quarter to a 55-40 halftime lead over the Raptors in Game 3.
After a lull in the second half of the first quarter, the Cavaliers found a rhythm on the offensive end of the floor, as they knocked down 12 of their 20 attempts from the field, including a three-for-five showing from three-point range on the way to a 10-point scoring edge in the second period.
After just one half, the Cavaliers had three players in double figures, led by 15 points from small forward LeBron James and 12 each from center Kevin Love and shooting guard Kyle Korver.
Although James was the Cavaliers’ leading scorer, he punctuated the first-half effort with a slick pass to forward Jeff Green, who caught the ball while cutting to the hoop and threw down a dunk with just seconds remaining in the second quarter.
9:34 p.m.-CAVALIERS EXPAND LEAD WITH 6-0 SCORING RUN
CLEVELAND -- The Toronto Raptors trimmed the Cleveland Cavaliers’ advantage down to just one point on two occasions midway through the second quarter, but a 6-0 run from the Cavaliers gave them a 45-38 lead with 3:48 to play before halftime at Quicken Loans Arena.
Just as he did to start the game, point guard George Hill got the run going when he knocked down a pair of free throws, and then, small forward LeBron James turned a defensive rebound into a transition basket, as he got a driving layup to fall.
The Raptors burned a timeout after shooting guard Kyle Korver buried a pull-up jumper along the baseline.
Korver caught a pass from James in transition, pump-faked a defender out of the way, and got the friendly roll from the home rim for his sixth and seventh points of the game.
9:12 p.m.-CAVALIERS LEAD RAPTORS, 24-19, AFTER FIRST QUARTER IN GAME 3
CLEVELAND -- Although the Cleveland Cavaliers cooled off on the offensive end of the floor in the second half of the first quarter, they still staked themselves out to a 24-19 lead over the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena Saturday night.
Despite making only eight of their 21 looks (38.1 percent) from the floor and two of their seven three-pointers (28.6 percent), they limited the Raptors to just six-of-20 shooting from the field over the first 12 minutes of play.
Cavaliers small forward LeBron James and center Kevin Love led the way with six points each.
9:04 p.m.-RAPTORS GET BACK INTO RHYTHM WITH 9-4 SCORING RUN
CLEVELAND -- Down by double digits early against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Toronto Raptors found a rhythm on the offensive end of the floor and cut into the deficit late in the first quarter.
Courtesy of a 9-4 scoring run, the Raptors trimmed Cleveland’s lead down to just five points, 20-15, with 2:19 to play in the first quarter.
Toronto’s three-point shooting keyed the run, as point guard Kyle Lowry and reserve wing CJ Miles each buried long-distance shots from the right wing.
8:52 p.m.-LEBRON THROWS DOWN REVERSE DUNK
CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers turned defense into a little bit of offense midway through the first quarter against the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena Saturday night.
With the Cavaliers already holding a six-point lead, center Kevin Love blocked Raptors small forward OG Anunoby and tipped the ball out to small forward LeBron James, who led a 3-on-2 fast break down to the other end of the floor.
After Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry attempted to swipe the ball out of James’ hand, the veteran of seven straight trips to the NBA Finals cruised through the lane and threw down a spinning reverse right-handed dunk, which put the home crowd at a fever pitch.
Love with the block, LeBron with the reverse! #WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/OA9pAWocqN
8:47 p.m.-CAVS JUMP OUT TO 10-4 LEAD OVER RAPTORS
CLEVELAND -- With momentum already firmly on their side, the Cleveland Cavaliers came out with shooting in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Toronto Raptors in front of the home fans at Quicken Loans Arena.
Cavaliers point guard George Hill got the offense going when he buried a three-pointer from the corner on a pass from shooting guard Kyle Korver, and following a layup and two free throws from small forward LeBron James, Korver got in on the scoring.
After catching a pass from Hill in the left corner while being heavily defended, Korver created enough space to get the shot lifted, and it was perfectly in line, as the ball hit nothing but the bottom of the net.
Korver’s three-pointer prompted the Raptors to call their first timeout of the game.
8:30 p.m.-RAPTORS MAKE LINEUP CHANGE
CLEVELAND -- The Toronto Raptors made a change to the starting lineup ahead of tonight’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena.
Down 2-0 in the best-of-seven series after losing Games 1 and 2 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, the Raptors have inserted guard Fred VanVleet into the starting lineup and benched forward Serge Ibaka.
Over the first two games of the series, Ibaka averaged just 5.5 points and four rebounds in 20 minutes.
VanVleet scored nine points in Game 1 and 14 in Game 2, totaling 23 points in 48 minutes of play.
6:30 p.m.-GAME INFORMATION
CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers needed just one win at the Air Canada Centre to take away home-court advantage from the No. 1 team in the East, the Toronto Raptors, and they did one better in the first two games of the 2018 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
With a dominant 128-110 Game 2 win over the Raptors in Toronto Thursday night, the Cavaliers bring a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series back to Cleveland, where they will host Game 3 at Quicken Loans Arena tonight, but they know there is much work yet to be done.
“We’re not satisfied,” Cavaliers small forward LeBron James said following the Game 2 win. “We came up and played some good basketball up here, but we look forward to even more of a challenge come Saturday.”
According to James, the Cavaliers “just want to try to continue to get better every game” because with a team that has been together less than three months going against the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, he knows anything can happen.
“These two games are over,” James said. “Now, we can get our minds right for Game 3. It’s one game at a time, and that’s the only way we should look at it. We will not put our guards down. I won’t, so that’s going to trickle down to everybody else. Understanding that the series is never won until it’s over, we’ve got to win four games to get out of a series, and it starts with the next game.”
The Cavaliers have become known for their third-quarter struggles, but that was anything but the case against the Raptors in Game.
The Cavaliers outscored the Raptors, 37-24, in the third quarter and rode that momentum to a 128-110 victory over the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference on their own home floor, marking the first time all season Toronto lost two consecutive games at the Air Canada Centre.
“Just came out with a sense of urgency, knowing what was at stake,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. “I thought we did a great job of closing the half, and we closed the half so good, we wanted to come out and establish something early in that third quarter.
“The guys got out early and got a good warmup. We scored 37 points in that third quarter, so that was good for us offensively. Holding them to 24 points in that third quarter was big for us as well.”
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