TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points, Bismack Biyombo set a Toronto playoff record with 26 rebounds and the Raptors beat Cleveland 99-84 on Saturday night, handing the Cavaliers their first loss this postseason.
Kyle Lowry scored 20 points, Cory Joseph added 14, and Patrick Patterson and DeMarre Carroll each had 10 for the Raptors. They rebounded in Game 3 after losing the first two games in Cleveland by a combined 50 points.
In Toronto, where “We The North” is a Raptors rallying cry, a sellout crowd dressed in red and white T-shirts helped their team improve to 7-2 at home in these playoffs. Game 4 is Monday night at Air Canada Centre.
LeBron James scored 24 points, and J.R. Smith had 22 for the Cavaliers. They won their first 10 playoff games and were trying to match the Los Angeles Lakers’ record of 11 straight victories to begin a postseason. The Lakers did it in 1989 and again in 2001.
The Cavaliers were held below 100 points for the first time in these playoffs.
It was a rough night for Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, who scored three points and made just 1 of 9 field-goal attempts.
With his team ahead by eight, Biyombo scored six straight points in the final quarter to put the Raptors up 91-77.
DeRozan scored 12 points in the first quarter but saw a buzzer-beating 3 waved off after video review, so Toronto led 30-24 after one. Carroll, Joseph and Patterson each made 3-pointers during a 16-2 Toronto run midway through the second as the Raptors stretched their lead to 54-37.
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