NBA Playoffs Articles - Page 2

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus is known as a shooter, but he drew attention during a wild moment in Game 7 of the Cavs’ series against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, one that did not involve his perimeter shooting. Strus was caught giving a headbutt to Raptors Scottie Barnes. He […]

James Harden and the Cleveland Cavaliers looked to save their season on Sunday as they hosted the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Arena in Game 7 of their first-round series in the playoffs. Harden is not a stranger to a best-of-seven matchup going the full distance, although he has not been particularly successful. He, however, has […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a mess of themselves in crunch time of their 112-110 loss to the Toronto Raptors courtesy of a game-winner from RJ Barrett. It seemed like the Raptors were going to throw their whole season away with a Jamal Shead miss from the charity stripe to keep the Cavs in the lead, […]

As the Cleveland Cavaliers came back to win Game 5 against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, 125-120, the team now leads 3-2 in the series with a chance to move on to the second round of the NBA Playoffs. With the Cavs looking to beat the Raptors once and for all in Game 6, it […]

Nothing fazes James Harden anymore. He has seen it all in the playoffs, and he knows that getting into an altercation is part of a high-stakes environment. In Game 5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first-round series against the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Arena on Wednesday, Harden got into a shoving match with Toronto Raptors forward […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers are just a win away from advancing to the second round of the playoffs after escaping the Toronto Raptors, 125-120, in a hard-fought Game 5 at Rocket Arena on Wednesday. The Cavaliers clamped down on defense in the fourth quarter, limiting the Raptors to 7-of-28 shooting, to complete the come-from-behind victory. Evan […]

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell did not have his best game on Wednesday, but he was more than happy that they defeated the Toronto Raptors, 125-120, in Game 5 at Rocket Arena to take a 3-2 lead in their first-round series. Mitchell scored 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting. He was held scoreless in the fourth […]

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 first-round series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors is yet to be over, but Charles Barkley is seemingly already done with the Cavs. The Basketball Hall of Famer selected the Cavs to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2026 NBA Finals, but he’s already regretting that pick. During halftime of Wednesday’s Game […]

When all is said and done in his career, Cleveland Cavaliers star guard James Harden will be a Basketball Hall of Famer. The former NBA Most Valuable Player added to his stacked resume on Wednesday, when he notched his 4,000th career point in the NBA Playoffs during Game 5 of a first-round series against the […]

James Harden is letting the Toronto Raptors know. The Cleveland Cavaliers star guard was blazing right out of the gate of Wednesday night’s Game 5 against the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The former NBA Most Valuable Player torched the visiting Raptors in the opening quarter, where he scored 14 points on 4-for-7 […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers looked to be in cruise control in their first-round series against the Toronto Raptors, as they took the first two games of the series without much fuss. But the narrative of the series has changed, as the Raptors have utilized homecourt advantage to full effect and have taken Games 3 and 4 […]

In the playoffs, every possession matters. Diving for loose balls and fighting for rebounds with everything one has is the bare minimum come postseason time. On Sunday, however, a scary moment unfolded when Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell attempted to save a ball from going out of bounds, as he ran over some fans along […]

Despite a strong effort in the final quarter, the Cleveland Cavaliers ran out of gas in Game 4 at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday, absorbing a four-point loss to the Toronto Raptors, 93-89. The series is now tied at 2-2, with Game 5 returning to Rocket Arena on Wednesday. The Raptors sealed the victory via free […]

On Sunday afternoon, the Cleveland Cavs dropped to 2-2 in their first round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors with a disappointing Game 4 loss on the road. This game was an ugly defensive battle throughout, with the Raptors ultimately emerging with a 93-89 win after the Cavs went ice cold on offense late in […]

On Sunday afternoon, the Cleveland Cavs had a golden opportunity to go up 3-1 in their first round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors on the road. Instead, the Cavs squandered a late lead in what was an ugly offensive showing for both teams, with the Raptors emerging as 93-89 victors. The Cavs were in […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a 2-1 series lead on the Toronto Raptors, and they’re looking to extend it to 3-1 after Game 4. Though they fell in Game 3, they have a chance to bounce back on the road, and with the playoff experience on the team, it’s very possible. James Harden has seen it […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers, being a veteran team led by players with plenty of playoff experience, had to have known that the Toronto Raptors were going to be bringing their A-game on Thursday as they stared at the prospect of going down 3-0 in the series. And the Raptors did play with the desperation that comes […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers are up 2-0 over the Toronto Raptors as the first-round matchup enters Game 3 of the series on Thursday. While the Cavs are up by two games and need two more wins to advance to the second round, Max Strus reveals the mindset he and his teammates have for the next contest […]

All-Star Donovan Mitchell and James Harden led the Cleveland Cavs in Game 2, beating Brandon Ingram and the Toronto Raptors, 115-105, to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-7 series, but Dean Wade’s defense earned a ton of credit. Holding the All-Star forward to a scoreless first half, Wade locked Ingram up before Brandon eventually […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers maintained their homecourt advantage against the Toronto Raptors after winning in Game 2, 115-105, at Rocket Arena on Monday to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round matchup in the playoffs. It was a balanced attack for the Cavaliers, with Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, and Evan Mobley coming up with big numbers […]

The NBA playoffs starting means that everyone has their predictions in on who they think will make it all the way to the NBA Finals. The NBA on ESPN crew recently gave their takes on who they have competing for a championship, and many Cleveland Cavaliers fans will be pleased with Charles Barkley’s answer. Barkley […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers got a convincing win in Game 1 against the Toronto Raptors, and it took a complete team effort for them to take the series lead early. One of the key players of the game was Max Strus, who finished with 24 points and shot 4-for-6 from the 3-point line. The Cavs knew […]

Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers will look to avenge their early exit in last season’s playoffs when they take on the Toronto Raptors in the first round starting on Saturday. The Cavaliers, despite being the top seed, were ousted by the Indiana Pacers in five games in the second round in 2025. It left […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering the NBA Playoffs with a markedly different outlook than what their regular-season results against the Toronto Raptors might suggest. As Cleveland prepares to host the fifth-seeded Raptors on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. ET on Prime Video, cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor outlined why Toronto’s three-game sweep of the season series carries little […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the best teams in the NBA all season long, but sometimes a bad matchup is all it takes to turn a dream season into a nightmare in a matter of days. That is exactly what happened in this second round playoff series, as the Indiana Pacers swiftly took care […]

Max Strus has been taking the initiative in the Cleveland Cavaliers locker room to be the team’s vocal leader; after all, Strus was the only one on the roster who’s made it all the way to the NBA Finals in the past, so he knows what it takes to be there for his team right […]

The vibes around the Cleveland Cavaliers right now are grim. After putting up a 64-win season that had many fans dreaming of an NBA championship run, they saw their season come to an unfortunate end after they lost their second-round series to the Indiana Pacers in five games — with the Cavs unable to push […]

Fresh off a 126-104 victory in Game 3 that seemed to breathe new life into the Cleveland Cavaliers after going down 2-0 in their second-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers, many believed that the 64-win Cavs were going to return to their regular-season form — especially with the returns of Darius Garland, reigning Defensive Player […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ dream season is on the verge of coming to an end after they got destroyed by the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of their first-round matchup, 129-109, to fall down 3-1. They came out with such lethargy that they couldn’t stay in the game and weather a rough shooting night in the […]

Max Strus is the guy on the Cleveland Cavaliers roster who’s made it the farthest in the playoffs, having made it to the NBA Finals with the Miami Heat in 2023. And Strus’ playoff experience is showing as the Cavs face a mountain of adversity in their second-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers. Facing a […]

Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson did not show a lot of frustration towards the NBA’s Last Two-Minute report for Game 2 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers. The Cavaliers had a 20-point lead in Game 2 despite missing several key players. However, the Pacers rallied as they took advantage of several mistakes Cleveland committed […]

Game 2 on Tuesday wasn’t the first time Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson was irritated with the refs. The same instance happened in Game 1, which led to an Indiana Pacers win. Following Tuesday’s blunder, Atkinson recognizes that the Pacers turned up the intensity down the stretch. However, the head coach added a subtle jab […]

The Cavs Game 2 loss was a brutal one, but it might’ve been more brutal for Ty Jerome. Despite shooting 1-14 on Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers, head coach Kenny Atkinson isn’t worried. Following the game, Atkinson made a promise about Jerome going forward. “It [was] a tough night, but we’re going to roll with […]

After a highlight reel dunk from Donovan Mitchell, the TNT broadcast mentioned something interesting about the Cavs guard. They said that he’s playing through a calf injury. Still, it didn’t stop him from dropping 48 points in a thrilling Game 2. Following the game, Mitchell said via Evan Dammarell of ClutchPoints on X (formerly Twitter) […]

Although Donovan Mitchell dropped 48 points in the Cavs’ Game 2 loss, everyone took a look in the mirror, including center Jarrett Allen. When asked about Mitchell’s performance, the center gave an interesting note about his individual performance. “It means I need to play harder as well,” Allen said via Evan Dammarell of ClutchPoints on […]

For much of Game 2, everything was going according to plan for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite being without Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and De’Andre Hunter, the Cavs were in command, thanks in large part to another bonkers performance from Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 48 points on the night after making a concerted effort to […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers have found themselves in early trouble in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers, who took Game 1 in convincing fashion. After that 121-112 loss in the series opener, Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs came into Tuesday night’s Game 2 looking to avoid falling down a 2-0 […]

After having a cakewalk in the first round against the Miami Heat, the Cleveland Cavaliers got tripped up on Sunday by Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at Rocket Arena. The Cavs lost the series opener to Indiana via a 121-112 score. The message to the […]