After taking the first two games of their first-round series against the Toronto Raptors, the Cleveland Cavaliers held off a major scare from the No. 5 seed in Game 5. Despite entering halftime facing a seven-point deficit, the Cavs rallied in the second half to get a 125-120 win and take a 3-2 series lead.
The Cavs’ stars showed out on the offensive end in the win, but Cleveland also got massive contributions from its supporting cast. Point guard Dennis Schroder is among that group, as the veteran reserve dropped 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 21 minutes off the bench for Cleveland. Schroder also knocked down three 3-pointers, which were all big shots in such a high-scoring game.
After the game, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson praised Schroder’s contributions and spoke to how it represented the reasons why Cleveland brought him in, via Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald.
“When we were talking about trading for him, that was one of the things that came up,” Atkinson said. “This guy has played in huge games, both in the NBA and internationally, so this type of game fits him.”
The Cavs are now just one game away from closing the series out and advancing to the second round, and Schroder is a big reason why. Cleveland, playing with a lot of expectations on its shoulders after its recent playoff failures, had a ton of pressure on it in this game, but now that pressure shifts back to Toronto.
In addition to Schroder’s contributions, the Cavs also got big games from some of their stars in this one. Evan Mobley rebounded from a tough series and came alive in Game 5, finishing with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting with nine rebounds. James Harden matched him with 23 points of his own, allowing the Cavs to get through this one despite a relatively quiet night from Donovan Mitchell.
If the Cavs can get similar contributions from Schroder in Game 6 on Friday night, it will be very difficult for Toronto to beat them. There is a chance the veteran backup will be the reason Cleveland gets out of what looked like a very tricky series.