Jarrett Allens double-double powers Cavaliers past Raptors in Game 7 to set up Pistons showdown
CLEVELAND — Jarrett Allen tied his playoff career high with 22 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 114-102 victory over the Toronto Raptors in Game 7 of their series Sunday night.Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 22 points and James Harden added 18 in a series in which the home team won all seven games.Cleveland, the No.4 seed, will visit top-seeded Detroit on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the second round.
The Central Division rivals split their four regular-season meetings.“I think we’ve already moved on (to focusing on Detroit),” Mitchell said on the court immediately after the final buzzer.“We understand we won this game, but we play in a couple days.,”Scottie Barnes had 24 points and nine rebounds and RJ Barrett scored 23 for the Raptors, who were in the playoffs for the first time since 2022.All-Star forward Brandon Ingram missed his second straight game with a bruised right heel.“We gave it all, everything we had today,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said.
“Our guys were awesome.We made it hard on them.”Allen had 14 points and 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive end, as Cleveland went on a 49-21 run during a 15-minute span over the second and third quarters where it turned a nine-point deficit into an 19-point advantage.One of Allen’s baskets during the third quarter was a fast-break dunk after Max Strus stole the ball from Barnes to make it 74-59.Cleveland was 17 of 33 from the field, including five 3-pointers, during the run while converting seven of Toronto’s turnovers into 14 points.
The Raptors shot 6 of 23 and were 1 of 8 behind the arc.The Cavaliers also had a 25-8 rebounding advantage during the spurt, and converted 10 offensive boards into 14 points.“They were scoring in transition, getting some offensive rebounds,” Barnes said.“The offensive rebounds were giving them extra possessions.
That really hurt us, giving them momentum.”...