Limited Cavs hang tough but fall to Raptors

CLEVELAND — Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson wanted to use Friday's game as an opportunity to see some of the end-of-the-bench talent. He was probably thrilled with much of what he saw. Cleveland, missing five key performers, hung tough with the Toronto Raptors but suffered a 112-101 loss in an NBA Cup game on Halloween night at Rocket Arena. The Cavs' Evan Mobley, forced into playing center with the injury to Jarrett Allen, led all scorers with 29 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Forward De'Andre Hunter buried a high-arcing, 3-point goal at the first-half buzzer to pull Cleveland to within five points, 48-43. He finished with a season-high 26 points and six rebounds. Swingman Jaylon Tyson made the most of his opportunity with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and three blocks for the Cavs. Atkinson was thrilled with playing in the NBA Cup tournament. "It's great," he said. "I love it." The coach is impressed with the way the league added extra excitement to the regular season. Atkinson said the players love it, too, and play with more intensity in NBA Cup games. The Cavs played without Allen (broken left ring finger), shooting guard Donovan Mitchell (left hamstring tightness), shooting guard Sam Merrill (bruised right hip), point guard Darius Garland (left toe surgery) and swingman Max Strus (left foot surgery). Atkinson was probably not happy that his team got outrebounded once again, 48-42. The Cavs (3-3) have been outrebounded in all but one game this season. Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett and Jamison Battle all had 20 points for Toronto (2-4). Battle was 7-of-7 from the field, 6-of-6 from behind the arc. The Cavs started the third quarter on a 17-2 run to take a 60-51 advantage. Toronto, though, regrouped and took an 81-77 lead heading into the final period. The Raptors opened up a 30-22 advantage after the first quarter. The shooting percentages told the story in the opening period. Toronto shot .722 from the field and the Cavs shot .261. New addition The Cavs signed guard Chris Livingston to a two-way contract. He attended Akron Buchtel High School and Western Reserve Academy in Hudson. Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.