The Cleveland Cavaliers just swept the Toronto Raptors in the second round of the playoffs. What did we learn from Game 4?
The closeout game is the toughest game of the series to win, and that proved to be the case in Game 4. The Cleveland Cavaliers took care of business with a 109-102 win to close out the Toronto Raptors. Cleveland will now have 10 days off before the Eastern Conference Finals where they will face either the Boston Celtics or Washington Wizards.
The Cavaliers have now won 11 straight playoff games. They are the first team in NBA history to start the playoffs 8-0 in back to back seasons. The Cavs are now 32-4 in the Eastern Conference playoffs since 2015.
LeBron James was unbelievable once again. He finished with his routine 35 points on 11 of 22 shooting with 6 assists and 9 boards. James hit a 3 pointer with just under 3 minutes left to essentially put the series on ice.
Kyrie Irving was also clutch down the stretch. He finished with 27 points, 9 assists, and 4 steals. Irving orchestrated an 11-2 run of his own in the fourth quarter to help put the game out of reach. Together, LeBron and Kyrie combined for 92 points through points or assists.
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving combined to score or assist 92 of the Cavs' 102 points today
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) May 7, 2017
Kyle Korver provided a much needed scoring punch off the bench. He poured in 18 points on 4 of 6 shooting from beyond the arc.
Toronto was forced to play without Kyle Lowry once again. Demar DeRozan finished with 22 points. Serge Ibaka had a team high 23 points on 10 of 18 shooting. At the end of the day it wasn’t enough to avoid the sweep.
Here’s what we learned from the win.