Cavaliers ride hot hand of Dennis Schroder to take pivotal Game 5 against Raptors

Even a poor defensive performance in the first half could not keep the Cleveland Cavaliers from making it five wins in as many games for the home team in the first-round series against the Toronto Raptors with Wednesday's 125-120 comeback win.

The Cavaliers outscored the Raptors, 58-46, in the second half to overcome a poor defensive performance in the first half that saw Toronto go off for 74 points on 64 percent shooting.

The key to Cleveland's second-half rally was veteran guard Dennis Schroder, who scored 19 points (7-of-11 FG) off the bench. As expected, Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Evan Mobley combined for 65 points, but the Cavaliers' bench put up 43 points and hit eight triples.

After back-to-back losses erased a 2-0 lead earlier in the series, this was a game the Cavaliers needed to reestablish control in Game 5. It was not without a defensive struggle and some adversity, but Cleveland is now one win away from a third straight trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Dennis Schroder leads Cavaliers' big fourth-quarter effort in Game 5 win

Schroder scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth as Cleveland completely flipped the script in a game the Raptors led by as many as 12 and controlled the glass, 48-35.

It was a brutal fourth quarter all the way around for Toronto, which missed each of its first 11 shots and shot 7-of-28 from the field. Cleveland, meanwhile, converted seven of its first 11 shots and was 9-of-19.

Mobley was also particularly clutch in the fourth with a pair of key triples, one to break a 103-103 tie with over 10 minutes to play and another to extend Cleveland's lead to 113-108 nearly four minutes later. Both shots were assisted by Schroder.

While Schroder scored or assisted on 17 of the Cavaliers' 25 fourth-quarter points, Mobley and Harden were just as impressive with 23 points and nine rebounds apiece to contribute to the pivotal Game 5 win.