No Mo Williams. No Anderson Varejao. No winning streak for the Cavaliers. Playing without two of their top players the Cavaliers looked tired and undermanned in losing to the Toronto Raptors Friday Night 101-81. The Raptors took the lead early and were never really challeenged by the Cavaliers who seemed to be fighting an uphill battle all night.
To be fair, the Cavaliers never seem to play very well in Toronto, losing to the Raptors last year at this time to fall to 0-2. The expectations for that team, of course, were a lot greater that this team has, but it does show that the Air Canada Center is not a friendly place for the Cavaliers.
Antawn Jamison scored 11 points in the 3rd quarter and led all Cavaliers with 13 points. Anthony Parker added 10 for Cleveland who had just two players score in double figures. The Cavs shot just 38% from the field and were out-rebounded 46-33 by the Raptors. Raptors forward Reggie Evans had 14 himself.
It was nice to see a pair of undrafted rookies see their first NBA-action - and score their first pro points as well. Manny Harris scored 8 points in 12 minutes - all in the 4th quarter - while Samardo Samuels scored 7 points in 7 minutes. For a Cavaliers team that could score through three quarters, the 15 points Harris and Samuels brought the team kept the game from getting completely out of hand.
J.J. Hickson, coming off a huge game against the Celtics, was a non-factor, scoring just 6 points in 19 foul-plagued minutes. Ramon Sessions had arguably his worst performance since coming to the Cavaliers scoring 4 points on 1-10 shooting.
Luckily for the Wine and GOld they won't have long to think about tonight's performance. The Cavaliers get right back to it tomorrow night at The Q against the Sacramento Kings.