Winners and Losers From Cavaliers Game 6 Loss Against Raptors

The Cleveland Cavaliers had another letdown on Friday night. Here's the winners and losers.

Apr 23, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson looks on during the second half of game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors will be heading to a Game 7 on Sunday after an overtime finish on Friday night.

The Cavaliers stormed back in the second half to take the Raptors to overtime, but fell short 112-110 in Toronto.

Let’s take a look at the winners and losers from Game 6 before turning the page to a pivotal deciding matchup on Sunday that can change the trajectory of the franchise.

Winner: RJ Barrett’s hometown friendly rim

With just over 15 seconds left, it felt like the Cavaliers were going to eliminate the Raptors. But a sloppy inbounds play led to a Raptors turnover, and RJ Barrett knocked down a long distance three that bounced high off of the rim and fell in. 

While some would call it a lucky shot, the Cavaliers gave the Raptors an opportunity, and Barrett knocked down a huge shot in a big moment.

Loser: Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson

Even after Barrett’s big shot, the Cavaliers had an opportunity to win the game with less than two seconds remaining. But Evan Mobley shot a long-range three-point attempt that clanked off the front of the rim as time expired. 

Heading into Game 7, Atkinson will be under tremendous pressure. 

The Cavaliers overcame a lot this season. But the midseason swap of Darius Garland for James Harden proved that the Cavaliers were trying to contend for a championship this season. Dan Gilbert is footing the bill for the most expensive roster in the NBA, and a first-round upset against the Raptors would likely result in some massive changes. 

Atkinson’s lineup and late-game decisions will be under a microscope in Game 7. 

Winner: Cavs rebounders

Even though the final result was infuriating, Cleveland’s bigs showed up in a major way throughout the entire game. Despite missing the final shot, Mobley played arguably the best postseason game of his career, scoring 26 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. 

The Cavaliers had nine more offensive rebounds than the Raptors. They had 14 more rebounds in total. 

The bigs weren’t the issue. Even James Harden added nine rebounds. The Cavaliers will need to maintain that level of dominance on the glass in Game 7.

Loser: Donovan Mitchell

Mitchell was dreadful in the first half before turning things around in the second half. But the Cavaliers need more out of their best player to get past Toronto in Game 7.  He was 11-of-26 from the field and 2-of-10 from distance. 

Mitchell and Harden had seven combined turnovers.

If Raptors star Brandon Ingram (heel) returns for Game 7, it’ll put even more pressure on Mitchell to overcome whatever has slowed him down in this series.