A ‘Hail Mary’?_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

A ‘Hail Mary’?

Each team had 18 turnovers with nine of Toronto's coming in the second quarter when the Raptors were outscored 22-17.

"The second quarter killed us," lamented Toronto coach Dwane Casey.

He took solace in the fact that the Raptors held the NBA champions to 41.8 per cent shooting and 94 points.

"That's good enough defence," Casey said. "Some of the same shots we missed I know we're going to make. There's no consolation prize. They beat us. But again we've got to continue to believe in our offensive shots ... And we've got take care of the ball better. You can't have 18 turnovers.

James had a relatively quiet night, despite registering some sumptuous assists, as Irving and Kevin Love dominated the scoresheet early. James hit the 10-point plateau late in the third quarter to extend his double-digit scoring streak to 719 games.

Love finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Raptors (1-1), who had trailed by as many as 12, closed to 66-65 with a 9-0 run late in the third quarter. Cleveland led 71-67 entering the final quarter. Toronto mounted another charge, cutting the margin to 76-75 on a 6-0 run that was fuelled by two Cory Joseph baskets and one from rookie Jakob Poeltl.

But each time the Raptors rallied, Cleveland (2-0) answered. Toronto kept coming and finally tied it up at 86-86 on Lowry's two free throws with 3:42 remaining.

Lowry put Toronto ahead, after being fouled by James, for the first time 89-88 on another free throw with 2:37 left. Three James free throws gave Cleveland a 91-89 lead but a DeRozan dunk tied it. Then Irving sank the 26-foot dagger on a James assist.