Inside the Cleveland Cavaliers' Game 7 Win Over the Toronto Raptors

The Cleveland Cavaliers sealed a first-round series win with a 114-102 Game 7 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

Jarrett Allen used a stellar game inside to lead the Cavs with a 22-point, 19-rebound double-double. Raptors forward Scottie Barnes responded with 24 points in the series-clinching game.

Cleveland moved Dean Wade back into the starting five during the Cavs' deciding showdown against the Raptors. Max Strus had taken up a starting role in their last two matchups, including in Cleveland's Game 6 loss on the road. Wade would follow up his first four starts in the 1st-round series with five points and four rebounds in Game 7, while Strus chipped in 12 points in just under 31 minutes off the bench.

Jarrett Allen led the way

Allen nearly brought the house down early with a missed starting slam, but the Raptors would push ahead of a disoriented Cavs squad with routine plays that wound down the shot clock to pair with quick jumpers.

Cleveland relied on trips to the free throw line to get it back into competitive form, which countered some high-flying plays from Toronto's bench crew before a big-time run sparked some much-needed life into the Cavs' offense. While they came close by the end of the first quarter with a lopsided run, they couldn't knock the Raptors out of the driver's seat as a series of missteps and miscues kept things in Toronto's favor.

Just when it seemed all hope was lost for the Cavs, the trio of Strus, James Harden and Jaylon Tyson would spark a long-range run that would tie things up at 49 points apiece by the halftime horn. The duo of Harden and Donovan Mitchell, who would end the first half with a combined five makes on 14 tries, would flip the script in the second half as Cleveland finally found its bearings on both sides of the floor.

Allen and Evan Mobley would keep the charge going with a number of makes of their own in the half, which kept the Cavs flying ahead of a Raptors squad that responded with just 19 points in the third quarter. Cleveland would clear Toronto on the boards with 20 offensive rebounds, including eight from Allen, as it all but snuffed out any potential surprise comeback from its first-round opponents.

The Cavs will continue their fourth playoff trip since 2023 with a matchup against the Detroit Pistons, who took down the Orlando Magic in a Game 7 win of their own behind 62 points from guard Cade Cunningham and forward Tobias Harris. Cleveland split the regular-season series with its Central Division counterparts, but ended things off on a slight high note with a 113-109 win at home in March.

The Pistons overcame a 3-1 deficit to claim their first playoff series win in nearly two decades, which only left the Cavs and Raptors in first-round competition after the rest of the semifinals landscape was all but set. The Philadelphia 76ers, who got out of a 3-1 hole of their own against the Boston Celtics, will compete with the New York Knicks to see who will greet either Detroit or Cleveland the Eastern Finals.

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