Ty Jerome came off the bench to score 26 points, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley each recorded double-doubles, and the Cleveland Cavaliers led nearly wire-to-wire in a 122-108 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Jerome has scored at least 24 points in three of his past four games. Donovan Mitchell added 26 points, Allen finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds and Mobley chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
Scottie Barnes and Gradey Dick led the Raptors with 18 points each. Jakob Poeltl had 12 points and a game-high 19 rebounds. RJ Barrett added 16 points, six rebounds and six assists for Toronto, which has lost eight of its past 10 games.
With the Cavaliers leading 94-90, Mobley threw down a dunk with 0.8 seconds left in the third to ignite a 12-1 run. Jerome’s three-pointer, one of four he hit in the game, capped the surge and gave Cleveland a 106-91 lead with 9:23 left in the game.
Mitchell stepped up in the fourth, hitting 5 of 8 shots from the floor and scoring 11 points as the Cavaliers pulled away in the quarter. Issac Okoro’s shot from inside pushed the lead to 17 points — the largest of the game — with 8:30 left in the fourth.
After Toronto went ahead 2-0 — its only lead of the game — the Cavaliers responded with a 23-7 run, which was capped by Jerome’s three-pointer with 5:17 left in the first. Cleveland shot 65.2 percent from the floor in the quarter and held the Raptors to 36 percent shooting as the Cavaliers led 38-16 after one period.
Toronto responded in the second. Jamison Battle scored 11 of his 13 points in the quarter to help the Raptors trim the deficit. Ochai Abaji’s runner cut Cleveland’s lead to 50-46 with 3:20 left in the half. The Cavaliers battled back and took a 65-55 cushion into the break.
Jerome had 17 points and Allen added 15 in the first half to pace Cleveland. Dick scored 12 points for Toronto.
The Cavaliers outscored the Raptors 64-42 in the paint while also hitting 16 of 41 attempts from beyond the arc in the win.