CLEVELAND -- As it turns out, inserting Fred VanVleet into their starting lineup didn't fix everything for the Toronto Raptors.
That much was clear early as the Cleveland Cavaliers jumped out to a 24-19 first-quarter lead. Unsurprisingly, the highlight of the opening quarter came courtesy of LeBron James on a play that was initially set up by a Kevin Love block.
After Love swatted a shot attempt by Raptors rookie forward OG Anunoby, James grabbed the defensive rebound and proceeded to take off down court with a full head of steam. The 4-time MVP then cut threw the Raptors defense like a hot knife with butter, finishing the play with a reverse one-handed dunk.
James' jam pushed the Cavs' lead to 14-4 and was one of three baskets he made in the opening period on Saturday night. In his first 9 minutes of action, the Cavs' superstar scored 6 points on 2-of-4 shooting and added 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal to his stat line.
After initially leading Toronto by 12 points, the Cavs surrendered a 13-4 run as the Raptors closed the gap in a pivotal Game 3. Winning the first two games of the series in Toronto, Cleveland entered Saturday night laying claim to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
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