Siakam and Anunoby score 26 points as Raptors beat Cavs 118-107

CLEVELAND, AP — Pascal Siakam had 26 points and nine assists, OG Anunoby scored 26 points and the Toronto Raptors earned a 118-107 win over the Cavaliers on Friday night, becoming the first team in the East to win in Cleveland this season.

Scottie Barnes scored 25 points and Fred VanVleet added 18, helping Toronto beat the Cavaliers for the third time in three games this season. The Raptors had a season-high 19 3-pointers, with Anunoby tying his career high with six.

“We just wanted to play with speed and be aggressive from the start, get them to take hard hits and go out and bounce back as a group,” Anunoby said. « If we play with energy and play with strength, good things will happen. »

Siakam, who scored a career-high 52 points Wednesday in New York, also had seven assists. Barnes grabbed 10 rebounds, Anunoby had nine and VanVleet added eight.

VanVleet’s third 3 of the third quarter gave Toronto an 83-57 lead three minutes later, prompting Cleveland coach JB Bickerstaff to retire his entire starting lineup. Donovan Mitchell had four points at the time and finished with 12 on 4 of 16 shooting.

« They weren’t keeping their end of the bargain and they knew it, » Bickerstaff said. « If you get complacent in the NBA, someone will kick you in the face – and Toronto is a team that can do that. »

The Cavaliers fell to 16-3 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, including 11-1 against the East. Minnesota and Sacramento are the other teams to win at Cleveland.

Darius Garland had 17 points and eight assists, and Isaac Okoro had 15 points for the Cavaliers, who are 4-1 in their season-high six-game home run. Cedi Osman and Kevin Love each scored 13 points off the bench.

« This game is part of our growth and we have to keep that in mind, » Bickerstaff said. « Donovan is the oldest guy on our roster and he’s only 26. We’re still a very young team learning to win in this league. »

The Raptors, who entered shooting an NBA weak 32.2 percent on 3-pointers, made 12 of 21 in the first half and ended up shooting 51.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Toronto won for the second time in eight games and is 4-9 since beating the Cavaliers on Nov. 28.

« Pascal kept saying, ‘Don’t get bored with your head, keep stopping,' » Barnes said. “So we came out of this third quarter very strong. Fred took a few shots, Pascal took a few shots. We just came out ready to play.

The Cavaliers announced a sold-out crowd of 19,432, but the arena was less than two-thirds full due to sub-zero temperatures and poor road conditions in northeast Ohio.

TIPS

Raptors: C Khem Birch (non-COVID illness) missed his second straight game, but coach Nick Nurse said he was improving. … F Precious Achiuwa (sprained right ankle) last played Nov. 9 and F Otto Porter Jr. (dislocated left toe) has been out since Nov. 16. … Toronto has the third-lowest field goal percentage in the NBA at .449. « At some point we have to do these shots, don’t we? » said the nurse. « And I think we will. »

Cavaliers: F Evan Mobley is one of four players to average over 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 blocks, along with Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis of the Lakers. … F Lamar Stevens (right knee pain) has returned from a three-game absence. … Love leads the NBA with 14 charges drawn and is third among bench players with 7.0 rebounds per game.

FOLLOWING

Raptors: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.

Cavaliers: Host Brooklyn on Monday night.

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Brian Dulik, The Associated Press