Mitchell scores 30, Harden adds 28 as Cavaliers beat Raptors 115-105 for
2-0 series lead
[April 21, 2026]
By JOE REEDY
CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points,
James Harden added 28 and the Cleveland Cavaliers held on for a 115-105
victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night for a 2-0 lead in their
Eastern Conference first-round series.
Evan Mobley had 25 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who had
at least three players score at least 25 points in a postseason game for
the second straight season and fourth time overall. |
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) gestures to the crowd in
the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series
against the Toronto Raptors in Cleveland, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP
Photo/Sue Ogrocki) |
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“They threw the kitchen sink at us, gave us a lot of different
looks and (we) kept our poise,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson
said. “Donovan and James closed it for us, but I thought our
defense kind of forced them to go small. This is what the
playoffs are about. They came at us hard and we responded.”
Cleveland — which never trailed — has won 12 straight playoff
games against Toronto, tying the NBA postseason record for
consecutive wins against an opponent. The streak began in the
2016 Eastern Conference finals, when the Cavaliers took the
final two games. Cleveland swept Toronto in four games in the
second round in 2017 and '18.
The Cavaliers also have 12-game winning streaks against Detroit
and Atlanta, while the Los Angeles Lakers had a 12-game run
against Seattle from 1980 through '89.
Scottie Barnes led Toronto with a playoff career-high 26 points.
RJ Barrett had 22 points and nine rebounds.
The Raptors had 16 fast-break points after being held to a
season-low three on Saturday. But Toronto committed a
season-high 22 turnovers that led to 22 Cavaliers points.
“The only time the game got away was when we made a lot of
turnovers. We played super hard, we adjusted to how the game was
going, and did certain things that helped us,” Barnes said.
The series shifts to Toronto for Game 3 on Thursday night.
Harden had four assists to move into seventh place on the
playoff career list with 1,139. He also had five steals, the
fourth time he’s had at least that many in a playoff game.
A driving layup by Barnes got Toronto within 99-90 midway
through the fourth quarter. Mitchell responded with seven
straight points to put it away.
The Cavaliers had a 73-57 advantage midway through the third
quarter before the Raptors countered with a 16-6 run.
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