The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first round series. The Cavs now lead 2-0 and return home to Cleveland to try and wins Games 3 and 4 at home, which would mean a sweep of the Eastern Conference’s best team.
LeBron James finished the game with a monster line of 43 points, 14 assists, and eight rebounds, taking over the second half and nailing absurd turnaround fadeaway jumptshots over the left and right shoulders. While James was his absolute dominant self, the biggest x-factor in Thursday night’s victory was forward Kevin Love.
Love finished the game with 31 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists on 11-21 shooting from the field and 2-6 from beyond the arc. He had 10 points in the first quarter and nearly eclipsed his 2018 playoff high of 19 points by halftime, when he had 18 points.
After the game, Love was asked about the key changes he made coming into the night that resulted in the big game. He said nothing changed, however, and that it just came down to making shots.
“I made some shots,” Love said with a smile. “It’s as simple as that. It’s funny to say, but I’ve had a lot of great looks and really uncharacteristic misses. It’s not like I forgot how to play the game of basketball.”
The Cavs will take on the Raptors in Game 3 on Saturday night and Game 4 on Monday night. The Cavs won’t have more than a single day off for the rest of the series, so the quicker Cleveland can take care of their Canadian opponent, the more time they’ll have to rest for the Eastern Conference Finals.