Commentary: When Cavaliers needed him most, Jarrett Allen did it all

What was the turning point? Was it when Max Strus head-butted Scottie Barnes? Or was it when Donovan Mitchell, while chasing a loose ball, parachuted into the floor-level season ticket holders? ("Look out, lady! Here I come!") It could have been the Cavs' 60 rebounds (or so it seemed) in the first half. However, let's not forget that another person of interest was the late-game arrival of the Cavs' professional defensive nuisance, Dennis Schroder, who created just enough chaos to help send the Toronto Raptors back to Canada. Those were all potential highlight moments, but it seems more likely, more proper, that the saving of this Cavs victory, maybe even their season, that desperately needed saving, be awarded to Jarrett Allen, who may have played his way into the Cavs' Hall of Fame. With the Cavs' season on the line, here was the heavy lifting lifted by the Cavs' beanpole lifter superman, which led to the Cavs' 114-102 Game 7 victory over the Toronto Raptors. From the Cavs' point of view, Sunday's heart-pounding deciding Game 7 was one that he, his teammates and his fan base will always remember. It was a heart-pounding, win-or-go-home shootout that the Fighting Atkinsons had to either win or face continual explanations on why and how the Cavs lost. Allen made sure that the good guys won, and that when it was over, the Cavs were the toast of the day's excitement. Talk about right player, right game, right time! Allen did the rest, and not a moment too soon. Everywhere there was potential trouble for the Cavs, Allen rode into town and straightened everything out. It was vintage Allen in every way possible. He was the best shooter, the best defender, the best rim protector and the best whatever-else-was needed-to-be-done. Oh, yeah. He also played 33 minutes, virtually without a mistake. This was Basketball 101, as taught by the master. The game was a spirited one — just ask the Toronto player (rhymes with Scottie Barnes) who got head-butted by that old head-butter Max Strus, who did his Max Strus thing late in the third quarter. It was that kind of game that needed to be that kind of game, for both teams, because this was Game 7, which, as we all know, you either win, or you go home. Immediately. See ya, Scottie. See ya, Raptors. The Cavs came into the game a little wobbly, having struggled to regain the kind of hoops they had played for most of this season. For whatever reason in the first half, the Cavs weren't the Cavs. But Allen was Allen, and, on this night anyway, Allen was the Cavs. Cleveland needed a big moment, and a big effort to ensure that its season would continue. Cleveland got that big moment, and a handful more in the second half, that eventually led to the home team winning and the visiting team losing. Indeed, the game was an important one for the Cavs, who have occasionally fallen into the habit of coming up short in certain games. That wasn't a problem for the Cavs on Sunday night. But it was a problem for Toronto. It's been awhile since the Cavs last took a team to the woodshed, but Sunday night the Cavs made sure the Raptors got an eyeful of how not to beat the Cavs. For the visitors, Allen was a recurring nightmare that the Raptors couldn't solve. The visitors had no answer for Team Allen, and even if they did, they still had no way to break the code. It was a stark turnaround from the last meeting between these teams, when it was the Cavs who were walking on egg shells, and the Raptors who were doing most of the heavy lifting. Things change during the course of an NBA game, and things changed in this one — dramatically. By the start of the fourth quarter, the end of the game was in sight, and both teams knew it. Team Allen was on a rampage, and no basketball was going to drop from the sky to save the visitors. On this night, a night diehard Cavs fans will remember forever, the Cleveland team made a statement. The Cavs were in the right place at the right time, every minute of the game, and there was no sign of the basketball-from-Mars. This game will go down as Jarrett Allen's Mona Lisa. As an individual and a team, the lads played a nearly flawless game, and Jarrett Allen definitely did. So let the tournament continue. The Cavs and coach Kenny Atkinson hung a shiner on the upstart Toronto Raptors. The final score was Cavs 114, Toronto 102. The tournament just got a whole lot more interesting. Contact Jim Ingraham at (440) 329-7135 or jingraham4@gmail.com.