Toronto Raptors look to bounce back after blowout loss to Cavaliers

Coach Dwane Casey hopes to see that kind of bounce-back Saturday night as the Raptors look to dig themselves out of a 2-0 hole at Quicken Loans Arena. He understands the cocktail of emotions his team has gone through.

“They should be pissed off, upset,” he said prior to Saturday’s shootaround. “I tell them not to read or hear or listen to (things). But a month ago, everybody was crowning them and now everybody’s burying us.

“We understand that. They understand that. That’s sports, that’s the business we’re in. It hurts but the only way you can do something about it is come out here and do it on the court.”

The Raptors finished the regular season as top seeds in the East with a 59-23 record, nine games ahead of fourth-place Cleveland (50-32).

But the Cavaliers have won eight straight playoff games against the Raptors, dating back to the 2016 conference final.

Toronto somehow lost the series opener by one point in overtime in a game that saw the Cavs fail to register a lead in regulation time. LeBron James (43 points) and Kevin Love (31 points) put on a show in Game 2, rolling over the Raptors in the second half en route to a 128-110 victory.

Bookmakers have Cleveland at around a 4.5-point favourite Saturday.

Asked how he slept after the Game 2 blowout, star guard DeMar DeRozan said he never sleeps well.

“That’s probably a first for (Lowry) but it’s every night for me,” said DeRozan.

“Right after (the game), you just try to forget about it, try not to think about because it was a tough loss, it was embarrassing,” he added. “We didn’t want to go out like that, especially on our home floor — drop two (games).”

After Thursday’s loss, Lowry called for a change in attitude.

“We need more effort, way more effort,” he said. “We’ve got to play harder, somehow, some way.”

That may involve different personnel.

Asked how much though he had given to changing his lineup, Casey said: “A lot.”

Power forward Serge Ibaka was ineffective Thursday with just two points in 12 minutes.

Turnovers have been a key in the series, with the Raptors outscored 34-8 in points off 24 giveaways over the first two games. Cleveland had a total of nine turnovers, including a franchise-low three in Game 2.

DeRozan called for the Raptors to apply more pressure, in a bid to force more turnovers.

Game 4 is Monday in Cleveland.

___

Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Toronto Raptors look to bounce back after blowout loss to Cavaliers

What's Trending