Underwhelming finish after a hard-fought battle

The Cavs were down three points going into the final 12 minutes.

Undrafted Raptor Jamison Battle scored back-to-back baskets, and Jamal Shead nailed a prove-it 3 from the top of the arc with 6:21 left, making it a two-point game. 

The prospect of winning seemed so perfect. An injury-riddled Raptors roster with a lineup on the floor consisting of Jakob Poeltl (who had the best game of the series last night), a hometown Sauga man, a rising sophomore, and a second-round and undrafted pick were giving the Cavs a run for their money.

In Game 4, the Cavs failed to close the game, up eight eights with less than five minutes left. The Raptors seemed close to making history repeat itself.

Just as Battle emerged in Game 3, however, former Raptor and current Cavs guard Dennis Shroder turned into his FIBA superstar self with back-to-back baskets to push the lead to seven. This catalyzed a 9-0 Cavs run. The Raptors took a timeout after a Schroder triple, subbed a hobbled Scottie Barnes back on, but the bleeding didn’t stop.

The Raptors tried to answer back with desperation 3s. Ja’Kobe Walter and Shead – who shot 5-10 and 3-6, respectively, from downtown in the first three quarters – went ice cold. After the Raptors’ timeout after Schroder made his triple, Walter went 1-for-3 behind the arc and Shead regressed to the mean, going 0-for-3. The Cavs stuck to their guns and kept daring Shead to shoot. The Raptors shot a measly 2-for-12 from downtown in the fourth quarter.

3-point shooting struggles is not new news for this team, but last night, another discovery was made. Rajakovic has talked about the playoffs being a place where you discover that you’re powerful beyond measure. The Raptors remained competitive against a healthy Cavs team without Brandon Ingram (for most of the game) and Scottie’s quadricep.

The Raptors have been putting pressure on the Cavs all series, and now know they can take this to Game 7 regardless of who’s on the roster at Scotiabank tomorrow.