Cavaliers turn it up in second half, survive Game 7 vs. Raptors

CLEVELAND — For the third consecutive season, the Cavaliers have advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals. They hammered the Toronto Raptors 114-102 Sunday in a decisive Game 7 at Rocket Arena to win the best-of-seven series 4-3. They will travel to Detroit for Game 1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals Tuesday. Center Jarrett Allen was fabulous in the third quarter with 14 points and 10 rebounds, as Cleveland thumped the Raptors 38-19 in the quarter to storm to an 87-68 advantage. He finished with 22 points, a game-high 19 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals. The 6-foot-11, 250-pounder finished 7-for-11 from the field and 8-for-14 from the foul line. "When he plays like that, we're a different ballclub," Cavs point guard James Harden said. "Amazing. We haven't seen that all series (from him). That's a game-changer right there." Things got so crazy, the fans started chanting, "MVP, MVP" when Allen went to the foul line and his teammates were calling him, "Dr. JA." Not bad for a player called "soft" by Golden State's Draymond Green last week on his podcast. "In this league, once you get a certain label, it always follows you around," Allen said. "I've always moved forward and tried to be my best." Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said that's the best he's ever seen Allen play. "I've coached him a long time," he said. "He took us over the top. It was absolutely incredible. We needed someone else to step up." Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell contributed 22 points, while Harden added 18 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. "It's going to take all of us," Harden said. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy. Toronto gets after you. We didn't quit. We're going to need everybody in order to move on." Swingman Sam Merrill returned to form for the Cavs with 13 points on 3-for-7 from long distance, while Max Strus added 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Jaylon Tyson was also impactful with seven points, nine rebounds and four assists. Mitchell said the Cavs fed off Strus' energy. "He's a maniac," he said. "You can't describe everything he does. He comes out and sets the tone for us. He's a gamer. When you're in a big game, he's a dude you want to go to war with." Mitchell said Strus also headbutted one of the Toronto players. Cleveland was particularly frisky on the night, as Mitchell, Strus and Allen committed flagrant-1 fouls. Power forward Evan Mobley was saddled with foul trouble but still finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. The home team captured all seven games in the series. The Cavs now own an 11-0 playoff record against the Raptors at Rocket Arena, including 4-0 in 2026. Cleveland has now defeated Toronto four times in the postseason (4-2 in 2016, 4-0 in 2017 and 4-0 in 2018 were the others). The Cavs used a staggering 20-2 run, which stretched over the second and third quarters, to take control of the game. Cleveland trailed 47-38 late in the second quarter. The teams were tied at 49 at halftime and the Cavs scored the first nine points of the third quarter. Harden said Cleveland's defense stiffened, which fueled the Cavs' scoring run. He said they also stopped turning the ball over. After coughing up the ball 13 times in the first half, they had just three in the second half. "We have to stop turning the ball over," Harden said. Raptors forward Scottie Barnes led all scorers with 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while forward RJ Barrett added 23 points. Contact Bob Finnan at (440) 329-7135 or rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.