Lethargic Cavaliers ripped by Raptors

CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers were stuck in the mud. The Toronto Raptors were never seriously threatened in their 126-113 blowout victory over Cleveland on Thursday at Rocket Arena. All the built-in excuses were there for the Cavs (8-5), who were playing in their fifth game in seven nights and returned to Cleveland around 3 a.m. from Miami. Despite resting two of their top players on Wednesday, Cleveland was lethargic and showed little spark. "We didn't have it," Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. "They were great. They flew by us. They beat us to every rebound. I wish we were mentally stronger. Our main guys didn't have the juice tonight. "They dominated us physically. They got the rebounds, loose balls, were quicker and faster. Give them credit. We've got to be better. We couldn't slow them down." Raptors power forward Scottie Barnes totally outplayed his Cleveland counterpart, Evan Mobley, to the tune of 28 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and five blocks. Barnes beat out Mobley for Rookie of the Year in 2022. Mobley finished with seven points and nine rebounds and was just 2-of-7 from the field. "We didn't do a good job of getting him the ball," Atkinson said. "(Jarrett Allen), too. It was collective." Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 31 points, six rebounds, six assists and two blocks. He did most of his damage at the foul line, where he was 15-of-17. The six-time All-Star committed a game-high seven turnovers. Cleveland's most impressive performance came from forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin, who had a season-high 18 points, six rebounds and two steals and was 8-of-10 from the field. He's positioning himself into getting more playing time as the season progresses. "I'm coming in being an energy guy and crashing the boards," he said. "I'm very passionate. I'm coming into the game and being that spark." Cavs guard Craig Porter Jr. continued his fine play with 10 points, five assists and two blocks. He has swatted six shots over the last two games. Porter said Tomlin's performance was nothing that he hasn't seen before. "He does everything you can ask from him," Porter said. "He just brings a different level of energy. I was in the same situation (as a two-way player). He does all the little things." He said fatigue played in role in the second loss to Toronto in as many tries this year. "Everyone was kind of tired," Porter said. "That's no excuse, though. We can get better." Forward De'Andre Hunter contributed 16 points for the Cavs and guard Sam Merrill added 12. Guard Immanuel Quickley had 25 points and six assists for the Raptors (7-5), while center Jakob Poeltl added 20 points. Toronto shot .557 from the field and outrebounded the Cavs 43-37. The Raptors sped to a 67-54 advantage at the intermission. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.