Cleveland Cavaliers Ugly Habits Get the Best of Them in Bad Game 4 Loss

The Cleveland Cavaliers fell in a grinding 93-89 loss to the Toronto Raptors, who fought until the very last second to tie the series at two games apiece.

The disheartening loss saw James Harden offset seven turnovers with 19 points and eight assists. Toronto forward Scottie Barnes countered with 23 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three blocks for the Raptors.

Cleveland's shoot first, ask questions later approach to the game's opening minutes was only countered by a Raptors offense that was equally as slow to find its footing as the bout unfolded. Barnes would ultimately spark the Raptors to life with driving dunks that capitalized on a few bad turnovers from the Cavs' leading options.

Cleveland's star duo of Harden and Donovan Mitchell would end the loss with 11 turnovers as the Raptors' defense all but flew around the halfcourt to stop whatever the Cavs threw out them, which all but mirrored the turnover-littered matchup that caused the Cavs to drop Game 3.

Cleveland would end the first quarter with a 31.8% clip from the floor, its worst first-quarter playoff performance since its Game 4 East semifinals battle against the Indiana Pacers last season, while the Raptors ended with a 26.9% clip. Cleveland seemed to find its groove more than halfway into the quarter after an atrocious 3-point battle that saw both sides brick 12 of their first 14 attempts, but a back-and-forth brick battle kept both sides in a stalemate as they seemingly refused to find the bottom of the net.

Guard Dennis Schröder put the team on his back and brought some energy off the bench with tough takes inside in the second quarter, where he'd score a handful of buckets before the Raptors clawed their way back into contention with a slow-moving comeback. Brandon Ingram, who has had an up-and-down run as a scorer against the Cavs, scored 10 points in the final few minutes of the first half despite a slow start that saw him hit just one shot in the first quarter.

Cavs couldn't hold the lead in second half

While Cleveland took as comfortable of a lead as it could in the third quarter, the Raptors willed themselves back into contention behind close-up tries and a few trips to the free throw line. Toronto kept the pedal to the metal with a stalling engine using a series of gut-punch plays that gave it just enough of a lead to stop a sputtering Cavs squad from claiming the much-needed win.

The Cavs would finish with 32 made shots on 87 tries, their lowest percentage this season since a December loss to the Golden State Warriors. It would only be overshadowed by a slightly slower performance from Toronto, who would end things off with a startling 32% from the floor as no one aside from center Jakob Poeltl hit more than 50% of their shots. Cleveland's 38 paint points were its lowest since a March loss to the Boston Celtics.

The Cavs will need to find the same success they had on their home court after stumbling again following a Game 3 loss. Cleveland's star trio will again be searching for answers after a turnover-riddled game from Harden and a combined 10 makes on 35 tries from Mitchell and Evan Mobley. A failed 4th-quarter comeback changed the scenery of the battle between two of Cleveland's potential cross-bracket rivals, which saw the Orlando Magic take a 2-1 lead over the Detroit Pistons with an all-important win on their home floor.

The Cavs will tip off against the Raptors on Wednesday in Rocket Arena.

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