CLEVELAND: It struck me while watching the first quarter of Oklahoma City’s victory over Golden State on Tuesday. The Warriors came out with the same sense of entitlement the Cavaliers had shown against the Toronto Raptors in Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Thunder were more energetic and hungry, just like the Raptors. The defending champion Warriors had no spark, no drive, no aggressiveness, a mirror image of most of the Cavs when they crossed the border.
The Cavs, as they have been wont to do all season, went from dormant to dominant in the bat of an eye in Wednesday night’s runaway 116-78 victory in Game 5 in Quicken Loans Arena. They showed a sense of urgency from the opening tip, when Tristan Thompson pulled down Kyrie Irving’s miss and Kevin Love hit a turnaround hook shot.
So many wrongs of the Cavs’ two losses in Toronto were righted in that one possession — their lack of offensive rebounding, Thompson’s malaise playing in his hometown against one of his best friends and Love’s 5-for-23 shooting effort on the road in the series.
The Cavs went on to dominate the rebounding battle 48-27. Thompson finally played like the force he was in the 2015 postseason, finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds. More importantly, he held Raptors center Bismack Biyombo to four rebounds after Biyombo set a franchise record with 26 in Game 3.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said he had a talk with Love on Tuesday, presumably about his lack of aggression in the past two games. Love poured in 19 points in the first half with a perfect stat line — 6-for-6 field goals, 3-for-3 3-pointers, 4-for-4 from the free-throw line — along with two rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and a steal. He finished with a game-high 25 points on 8-of-10 shooting, the kind of performance sorely needed if the Cavs are to contend for a championship. This time, he sat out the fourth quarter because the rout was on, not because Channing Frye was outplaying him.
The Cavs showed no sign of panic after Monday night’s loss in Game 4 evened the series 2-2. But there was plenty in Northeast Ohio. A feeling (that I shared) that LeBron James needed to do more, that the circumstances called for a 40-point night from the four-time MVP. A fear that Love, Thompson and J.R. Smith had crawled into a black hole from which they would not emerge. A worry that Raptors coach Dwane Casey was finally getting the better of Lue after the rookie made all the right moves in the first two rounds against the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks.
All those concerns were erased in the first 24 minutes as the Cavs, playing at the pace Lue favors, raced to a 65-34 lead. It was the first time in franchise history that the Raptors had trailed by 30 at the end of the first half.
James said at shoot-around that he wanted to bring to his team a sense of calmness. With the Cleveland crowd in a pre-tip frenzy that rivaled last year’s six-game series against the Warriors, the Cavs proved oblivious to the rampant fear.
“This is a very calm moment for myself personally. I think they’ll follow that,” James said of his fellow Cavs. There were no signs of angst or worry lines on his face.
“We know what we need to do. It’s simple. There’s nobody worried about nothin’,” Thompson said.
Imposing their will on the Raptors, the Cavs proved both right.
Everything appeared to be falling perfectly for the Cavs, except for the way they were playing coming into Game 5. The Thunder lead the Warriors 3-1 in the Western Conference finals going into Thursday’s possible closeout. Oklahoma City would provide more favorable personnel matchups for the Cavs, the Thunder’s momentum notwithstanding.
But the Cavs threatened to throw it all away with their lackadaisical play, an unspoken feeling that they would get the Raptors when they were good and ready.
That time came Wednesday. On the brink of the NBA Finals going into Friday’s possible closeout Game 6 at Air Canada Centre, the Cavs must break the string of home team victories in all eight meetings with the Raptors this season to avoid a deciding Game 7 in Cleveland on Sunday.
Now that the Cavs’ sense of hunger has been unleashed, relieved fans must hope nothing or no one can contain it.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.