Raptors top Cavs to pull level in NBA playoff series / Photo: Cole Burston - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Raptors top Cavs to pull level in NBA playoff series
Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram scored 23 points apiece as the Toronto Raptors held off the Cleveland Cavaliers 93-89 on Sunday to knot their NBA playoff series at 2-2.
A tight, back-and-forth battle came down to the wire in Toronto, where the Raptors trailed by five with 2:10 left to play but powered to the lead with a 9-0 scoring burst and held on for the win.
"We want it so bad," Barnes, who added nine rebounds and six assists, told broadcaster ESPN. "We're hungry. We're fighting."
Both teams struggled offensively, the Raptors enduring a particularly dismal day from three-point range, making just four of 30 attempts from beyond the arc.
Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points to lead the Cavaliers and James Harden added 19.
But neither could connect in the final minute, Mitchell missing two attempts in the final 30 seconds as Barnes made six free throws down the stretch to seal it.
The best-of-seven Eastern Conference series now shifts back to Cleveland for game five on Wednesday. The home team has won every game so far.
C.P.Wilson--RTC
