Game ID: 42500132
Toronto Raptors @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Monday, April 20, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET
Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 26 28 30 31 115TOR 19 29 29 28 105
CLE vs TOR ScoutingCLE vs TOR Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
CLE availability going into 4/08 · 1 day's restOUT Tyson missed 9 since 3/21, out tonight
OUT Wade missed 7 since 3/25, returns tonight: 21 min (95% of 22)
BACK Porter Jr. back 3/30 after 7, 20 min since (120% of 16)
NEW Ellis 20 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Nance Jr. 12 to 18 min over the last 3
NEW Bryant 11 to 21 min over the last 4
CLE availability going into 4/10 · 1 day's restOUT Tyson missed 10 since 3/21, returns tonight: 24 min (101% of 24)
OUT Bryant missed 2 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Wade back 4/08 after 7, 21 min since (95% of 22)
NEW Ellis 20 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW Nance Jr. 12 to 18 min over the last 3
CLE availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restOUT Bryant missed 3 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Tyson back 4/10 after 10, 24 min since (101% of 24)
BACK Wade back 4/08 after 7, 19 min since (86% of 22)
NEW Porter Jr. 16 to 22 min over the last 3
NEW Nance Jr. 12 to 20 min over the last 3
CLE availability going into 4/18 · 5 days' restOUT Mitchell missed 2 since 4/10, returns tonight: 31 min (91% of 34)
OUT Allen missed 2 since 4/10, returns tonight: 28 min (103% of 28)
OUT Merrill missed 2 since 4/10, returns tonight: 21 min (83% of 25)
OUT Bryant missed 4 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Tyson back 4/10 after 10, 25 min since (105% of 24)
BACK Wade back 4/08 after 7, 19 min since (86% of 22)
NEW Ellis 20 to 25 min over the last 4
NEW Porter Jr. 16 to 23 min over the last 4
NEW Tomlin 14 to 23 min over the last 4
NEW Nance Jr. 12 to 20 min over the last 4
NEW Proctor 10 to 18 min over the last 4
CLE availability going into 4/20 · 1 day's restOUT Bryant missed 5 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 4/18 after 2, 31 min since (91% of 34)
BACK Allen back 4/18 after 2, 28 min since (103% of 28)
BACK Merrill back 4/18 after 2, 21 min since (83% of 25)
BACK Tyson back 4/10 after 10, 21 min since (89% of 24)
BACK Wade back 4/08 after 7, 20 min since (91% of 22)
NEW Tomlin 14 to 20 min over the last 4
NEW Proctor 10 to 23 min over the last 3
CLE availability going into 4/23 · 2 days' restOUT Bryant missed 6 since 4/06, returns tonight: 3 min (23% of 11)
OUT Proctor missed 2 since 4/18, returns tonight: 3 min (25% of 10)
BACK Mitchell back 4/18 after 2, 34 min since (100% of 34)
BACK Allen back 4/18 after 2, 27 min since (97% of 28)
BACK Merrill back 4/18 after 2, 20 min since (82% of 25)
BACK Tyson back 4/10 after 10, 19 min since (79% of 24)
BACK Wade back 4/08 after 7, 22 min since (100% of 22)
CLE availability going into 4/26 · 2 days' restBACK Mitchell back 4/18 after 2, 34 min since (99% of 34)
BACK Allen back 4/18 after 2, 27 min since (97% of 28)
BACK Merrill back 4/18 after 2, 20 min since (79% of 25)
BACK Tyson back 4/10 after 10, 18 min since (76% of 24)
BACK Bryant back 4/23 after 6, 3 min since (23% of 11)
BACK Proctor back 4/23 after 2, 3 min since (25% of 10)
CLE availability going into 4/29 · 2 days' restBACK Mitchell back 4/18 after 2, 34 min since (101% of 34)
BACK Allen back 4/18 after 2, 27 min since (97% of 28)
BACK Merrill back 4/18 after 2, 19 min since (78% of 25)
BACK Bryant back 4/23 after 6, 3 min since (23% of 11)
BACK Proctor back 4/23 after 2, 3 min since (25% of 10)
CLE availability going into 5/01 · 1 day's restOUT Porter Jr. missed 2 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Tomlin missed 2 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 2 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 2 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 4/18 after 2, 34 min since (100% of 34)
BACK Allen back 4/18 after 2, 26 min since (95% of 28)
BACK Merrill back 4/18 after 2, 20 min since (81% of 25)
BACK Bryant back 4/23 after 6, 4 min since (33% of 11)
TOR availability going into 4/09 · 1 day's restBACK Quickley back 4/07 after 8, 18 min since (55% of 32)
NEW Walter 22 to 29 min over the last 5
TOR availability going into 4/10 · back-to-backBACK Quickley back 4/07 after 8, 20 min since (64% of 32)
NEW Walter 22 to 29 min over the last 5
TOR availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restBACK Quickley back 4/07 after 8, 20 min since (64% of 32)
NEW Walter 22 to 28 min over the last 5
TOR availability going into 4/18 · 5 days' restBACK Quickley back 4/07 after 8, 19 min since (60% of 32)
NEW Walter 22 to 27 min over the last 5
TOR availability going into 4/20 · 1 day's restBACK Quickley back 4/07 after 8, 19 min since (60% of 32)
NEW Walter 22 to 27 min over the last 5
TOR availability going into 4/23 · 2 days' restNEW Walter 22 to 27 min over the last 5
TOR availability going into 4/26 · 2 days' restNEW Shead 23 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Walter 22 to 27 min over the last 5
TOR availability going into 4/29 · 2 days' restNEW Shead 23 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Walter 22 to 27 min over the last 5
TOR availability going into 5/01 · 1 day's restOUT Dick missed 2 since 4/26, out tonight
NEW Barrett 31 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Shead 23 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Walter 22 to 29 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 119, shooting 52 percent and 39 from three, 28 free throws a game; Harden at 21 and Mobley at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest. Toronto comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 110, shooting 53 percent and 44 from three, 27 free throws a game; Ingram at 24 and Barrett at 22 a game. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Toronto allowing 110 a night to Cleveland's 119 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-9 a night and Toronto plus-2. Call it Cleveland 118, Toronto 115, Toronto keeping it close.
4/08 vs ATL 122-116 — CLE notes
CLE won 122-116. CLE shot 47% (41 of 88) to ATL's 48%, 12 of 33 from three, and went to the line 35 times to ATL's 15 — 28 points from the stripe to their 10. Mitchell led with 31 (12 of 19, 1 of 4 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Mobley added 22, Harden 21. The hinge was Q3, 44-20: CLE came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 17. CLE trailed 60-67 at the half and won the second half 62-49.
4/10 @ ATL 102-124 — CLE notes
CLE lost 102-124. CLE shot 45% (39 of 86) to ATL's 48%, 7 of 27 from three, and got to the line 18 times to ATL's 25. CLE turned it over 19 times to ATL's 11, and ATL turned those into 12 steals. Harden led with 20 (6 of 13, 2 of 6 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Tyson added 15, Proctor 15. Q4 was theirs, 37-28, the deficit cut from 31 to 22, but the other 3 periods went 96-65 against them. Harden's -34 in 25 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/12 vs WAS 130-117 — CLE notes
CLE won 130-117. CLE shot 54% (48 of 89) to WAS's 47%, 18 of 43 from three. CLE turned it over 19 times to WAS's 12, and WAS turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 53-30 for them. Tomlin led with 26 (9 of 16, 4 of 8 from three); Proctor added 22, Tyson 18. The hinge was Q1, 43-21: from level to 22 ahead, and the lead reached 25. Sarr was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
4/18 vs TOR 126-113 — CLE notes
CLE won 126-113. CLE shot 54% (44 of 81) to TOR's 52%, 16 of 32 from three, and got to the line 28 times to TOR's 35. Mitchell led with 32 (11 of 20, 4 of 7 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Strus added 24, Harden 22. The hinge was Q3, 36-22: a lead of 7 became 21, and the lead reached 24. Wade was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
4/20 vs TOR 115-105 — CLE notes
CLE won 115-105. CLE shot 53% (44 of 83) to TOR's 51%, 13 of 40 from three. CLE turned it over 12 times to TOR's 22. Mitchell led with 30 (13 of 23, 4 of 10 from three); Harden added 28, Mobley 25. The hinge was Q1, 26-19: from level to 7 ahead, and the lead reached 16. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
4/23 @ TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Toronto comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 114, shooting 53 percent and 41 from three, 27 free throws a game; Barrett at 24 and Ingram at 21 a game. 2 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Mitchell at 31 and Harden at 23 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Toronto wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Toronto 116, Cleveland 115, Cleveland keeping it close.
4/26 @ TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Toronto comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 112, shooting 55 percent and 44 from three, 24 free throws a game; Barrett at 26 and Barnes at 23 a game. 2 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Harden at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Toronto wins, and the game turns on the arc, Toronto at 44 percent from three to Cleveland's 36 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-5 a night and Toronto minus-1. Call it Toronto 117, Cleveland 113, Cleveland keeping it close.
4/29 vs TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Harden at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 2 days' rest. Toronto comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 107, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 28 free throws a game; Barrett at 25 and Barnes at 24 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-5 a night and Toronto plus-0. Call it Cleveland 114, Toronto 112, Toronto keeping it close.
5/01 @ TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Toronto comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 112, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; Barrett at 24 and Barnes at 24 a game. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Mitchell at 23 and Harden at 22 a game. Without Porter Jr. (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Toronto wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Toronto has been plus-2 a night and Cleveland minus-2. Call it Toronto 114, Cleveland 113, Cleveland keeping it close.
4/09 vs MIA 128-114 — TOR notes
TOR won 128-114. TOR shot 51% (44 of 86) to MIA's 56%, 13 of 30 from three, and went to the line 34 times to MIA's 14 — 27 points from the stripe to their 8. TOR turned it over 4 times to MIA's 13. Ingram led with 38 (13 of 23, 2 of 3 from three, 10 of 11 at the line); Barrett added 22, Murray-Boyles 17. The hinge was Q2, 37-24: a lead of 6 became 19, and the lead reached 26. Mamukelashvili was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
4/10 @ NYK 95-112 — TOR notes
TOR lost 95-112. TOR shot 49% (36 of 73) to NYK's 55%, 10 of 25 from three, and got to the line 20 times to NYK's 27. TOR turned it over 17 times to NYK's 10, and NYK turned those into 10 steals. Mamukelashvili led with 17 (5 of 9, 3 of 6 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); Ingram added 16, Barnes 15. Q3 was theirs, 28-28, but the other 3 periods went 84-67 against them. Walter's -20 in 29 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/12 vs BKN 136-101 — TOR notes
TOR won 136-101. TOR shot 64% (51 of 80) to BKN's 41%, 12 of 27 from three. TOR turned it over 10 times to BKN's 15. Barrett led with 26 (9 of 15, 2 of 5 from three, 6 of 9 at the line); Ingram added 25, Barnes 18. The hinge was Q4, 36-17: a lead of 16 became 35, and the lead reached 38. Barnes was the night's best plus/minus at +35.
4/18 @ CLE 113-126 — TOR notes
TOR lost 113-126. TOR shot 52% (37 of 71) to CLE's 54%, 13 of 27 from three, and went to the line 35 times to CLE's 28 — 26 points from the stripe to their 22. Barrett led with 24 (7 of 13, 3 of 6 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Barnes added 21, Ingram 17. Q4 was theirs, 37-29, the deficit cut from 21 to 13, but the other 3 periods went 97-76 against them. Barnes's -22 in 32 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/20 @ CLE 105-115 — TOR notes
TOR lost 105-115. TOR shot 51% (42 of 83) to CLE's 53%, 7 of 26 from three. TOR turned it over 22 times to CLE's 12, and CLE turned those into 13 steals. Barnes led with 26 (11 of 19, 1 of 4 from three); Barrett added 22, Murray-Boyles 17. Q2 was theirs, 29-28, the deficit cut from 7 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 87-76 against them. Barnes's -17 in 40 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/23 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Toronto comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 114, shooting 53 percent and 41 from three, 27 free throws a game; Barrett at 24 and Ingram at 21 a game. 2 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Mitchell at 31 and Harden at 23 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Toronto wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Toronto 116, Cleveland 115, Cleveland keeping it close.
4/26 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Toronto comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 112, shooting 55 percent and 44 from three, 24 free throws a game; Barrett at 26 and Barnes at 23 a game. 2 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Harden at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Toronto wins, and the game turns on the arc, Toronto at 44 percent from three to Cleveland's 36 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-5 a night and Toronto minus-1. Call it Toronto 117, Cleveland 113, Cleveland keeping it close.
4/29 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Harden at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 2 days' rest. Toronto comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 107, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 28 free throws a game; Barrett at 25 and Barnes at 24 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-5 a night and Toronto plus-0. Call it Cleveland 114, Toronto 112, Toronto keeping it close.
5/01 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Toronto comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 112, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; Barrett at 24 and Barnes at 24 a game. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Mitchell at 23 and Harden at 22 a game. Without Porter Jr. (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Toronto wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Toronto has been plus-2 a night and Cleveland minus-2. Call it Toronto 114, Cleveland 113, Cleveland keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLEDM D. Mitchell
DS D. Schröder
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
JA J. Allen
JH J. Harden
JT J. Tyson
KE K. Ellis
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
SC Schroder
TORAL A. Lawson
BI B. Ingram
CM C. Murray-Boyles
JP J. Poeltl
JS J. Shead
JW J. Walter
RB R. Barrett
SB S. Barnes
SM S. Mamukelashvili
CLE/TOR the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Mitchell scores 30, Harden adds 28 as Cavaliers beat Raptors 115-105 for 2-0 series lead
CLEVELAND -- — 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.
“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.