Game ID: 42500136
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Toronto Raptors
Friday, May 1, 2026 at 7:30 PM ET
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT1 Final
TOR 32 29 31 12 8 112CLE 32 19 30 23 6 110
CLE @ TOR ScoutingCLE @ 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.
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
TOR availability going into 5/03 · 1 day's restOUT Dick missed 3 since 4/26, returns tonight: 0 min (3% of 14)
NEW Barnes 34 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Barrett 31 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Shead 23 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Murray-Boyles 22 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Walter 22 to 32 min over the last 5
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)
CLE availability going into 5/03 · 1 day's restOUT Ellis missed 2 since 4/29, out tonight
OUT Porter Jr. missed 3 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Tomlin missed 3 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 3 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 3 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Bryant back 4/23 after 6, 5 min since (44% of 11)
CLE availability going into 5/05 · 1 day's restOUT Ellis missed 3 since 4/29, returns tonight: 11 min (55% of 20)
OUT Porter Jr. missed 4 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Tomlin missed 4 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 4 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 4 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Bryant back 4/23 after 6, 5 min since (44% of 11)
CLE availability going into 5/07 · 1 day's restOUT Porter Jr. missed 5 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Tomlin missed 5 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 5 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 5 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 5/05 after 3, 11 min since (55% of 20)
CLE availability going into 5/09 · 1 day's restOUT Porter Jr. missed 6 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Tomlin missed 6 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 6 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 6 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 5/05 after 3, 8 min since (42% of 20)
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.
4/20 @ 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 126-104 — TOR notes
TOR won 126-104. TOR shot 57% (50 of 87) to CLE's 44%, 14 of 23 from three. TOR turned it over 11 times to CLE's 20. Barrett led with 33 (12 of 19, 6 of 8 from three, 3 of 7 at the line); Barnes added 33, Murray-Boyles 22. The hinge was Q4, 43-23: a lead of 2 became 22, and the lead reached 25. Barrett was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
4/26 vs CLE 93-89 — TOR notes
TOR won 93-89. TOR shot 32% (31 of 97) to CLE's 37%, 4 of 30 from three, and went to the line 36 times to CLE's 23 — 27 points from the stripe to their 15. TOR turned it over 11 times to CLE's 17. Barnes led with 23 (6 of 15, 11 of 14 at the line); Ingram added 23, Barrett 18. The hinge was Q2, 24-19: TOR came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 2. Shead was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
4/29 @ CLE 120-125 — TOR notes
TOR lost 120-125. TOR took 14 more shots (95 to 81), fed by 15 offensive rebounds, but shot 46% to CLE's 53%, 15 of 38 from three. The glass went 48-35 for them. Barrett led with 25 (9 of 19, 2 of 5 from three, 5 of 9 at the line); Walter added 20, Shead 18. Q2 was theirs, 40-29, turning a 4-point deficit into a 7-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 96-80 against them. They led by as many as 12. Battle's -13 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/01 vs CLE 112-110 — TOR notes
TOR won 112-110 in 1 overtime. TOR shot 46% (40 of 87) to CLE's 43%, 13 of 36 from three. The glass went 38-52 against them. Barnes led with 25 (11 of 21); Barrett added 24, Walter 24. The hinge was Q2, 29-19: from level to 10 ahead, and the lead reached 15.
5/03 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 111, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 25 free throws a game; Mitchell at 22 and Harden at 21 a game. Without Ellis (2 straight), Porter Jr. (3 straight). One day's rest. Toronto comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 109, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Barnes at 25 and Barrett at 24 a game. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Cleveland 113, Toronto 112, Toronto keeping it close.
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 104-126 — CLE notes
CLE lost 104-126. CLE shot 44% (36 of 81) to TOR's 57%, 14 of 45 from three. CLE turned it over 20 times to TOR's 11, and TOR turned those into 11 steals. Harden led with 18 (5 of 13, 3 of 10 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Mobley added 15, Mitchell 15. Q2 was theirs, 29-23, the deficit cut from 6 to 0, but the other 3 periods went 103-75 against them. Allen's -22 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/26 @ TOR 89-93 — CLE notes
CLE lost 89-93. CLE shot 37% (32 of 87) to TOR's 32%, 10 of 40 from three, and got to the line 23 times to TOR's 36. CLE turned it over 17 times to TOR's 11, and TOR turned those into 11 steals. Mitchell led with 20 (6 of 24, 4 of 12 from three); Harden added 19, Merrill 14. Q1 was theirs, 17-14, but the other 3 periods went 79-72 against them.
4/29 vs TOR 125-120 — CLE notes
CLE won 125-120. CLE shot 53% (43 of 81) to TOR's 46%, 18 of 36 from three. The glass went 35-48 against them. Harden led with 23 (7 of 13, 4 of 8 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Mobley added 23, Mitchell 19. The hinge was Q4, 25-17: CLE came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 5. CLE trailed 67-74 at the half and won the second half 58-46. Merrill was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
5/01 @ TOR 110-112 — CLE notes
CLE lost 110-112 in 1 overtime. CLE shot 43% (40 of 93) to TOR's 46%, 11 of 41 from three. The glass went 52-38 for them. Mobley led with 26 (9 of 15, 3 of 7 from three, 5 of 8 at the line); Mitchell added 24, Harden 16. Q4 was theirs, 23-12, the deficit cut from 11 to 0, but the other 4 periods went 100-87 against them. Schröder's -9 in 16 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/03 vs TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 111, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 25 free throws a game; Mitchell at 22 and Harden at 21 a game. Without Ellis (2 straight), Porter Jr. (3 straight). One day's rest. Toronto comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 109, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Barnes at 25 and Barrett at 24 a game. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Cleveland 113, Toronto 112, Toronto keeping it close.
5/05 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 98, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 27 free throws a game; Cunningham at 32 and Harris at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Huerter (3 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 28 free throws a game; Mitchell at 20 and Harden at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Ellis (3 straight), Porter Jr. (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the defense, Detroit allowing 98 a night to Cleveland's 111. Call it Detroit 113, Cleveland 107.
5/07 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 95, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 29 free throws a game; Cunningham at 31 and Harris at 23 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Huerter (4 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 108, shooting 44 percent and 33 from three, 26 free throws a game; Mitchell at 22 and Harden at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Porter Jr. (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the defense, Detroit allowing 95 a night to Cleveland's 108. Call it Detroit 112, Cleveland 107.
5/09 vs DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 110, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 27 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Harden at 18 a game. Without Porter Jr. (6 straight). One day's rest. Detroit comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 96, shooting 47 percent and 42 from three, 28 free throws a game; Cunningham at 31 and Harris at 23 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. Without Huerter (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Detroit allowing 96 a night to Cleveland's 110 and the arc, Detroit at 42 percent from three to Cleveland's 33. Call it Detroit 112, Cleveland 109, 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
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
SC Schroder
TB T. Bryant
TORAL A. Lawson
CM C. Murray-Boyles
JB J. Battle
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
Barrett hits winning 3-pointer in OT as Raptors force Game 7, beat Cavaliers 112-110
TORONTO -- — RJ Barrett hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining in overtime and the Toronto Raptors pushed their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series to a seventh game by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-110 on Friday night.
Evan Mobley had a chance to win it for Cleveland but his 3-pointer bounced off the front of the rim as time expired.
Scottie Barnes had 25 points and 14 assists, Barrett and Ja’Kobe Walter both scored 24 points and Collin Murray-Boyles added 17 as Toronto held on after blowing an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Game 7 is in Cleveland on Sunday. The home team has won all six games so far in the series.
“This is why you fight so hard to get home-court advantage,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We knew this wasn’t going to be easy. This is the playoffs, this is what it’s about. We’ve got to recover and get ready for Sunday’s game.”
The Raptors have yet to win in 10 playoff games in Cleveland, including three this series.
“We’ve got to be ourselves,” Barnes said. “Do what we did tonight, play super hard, make it tough for every single guy out there on the floor. That’s made an impact. Guys stepped up when we needed them to. It’s going to take everybody.”
Mobley had 26 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and James Harden had 16 for the Cavaliers. Jarrett Allen scored 14 points and Dean Wade had 10.
Harden shot 5 for 14 and went 1 for 4 from 3-point range. He finished with nine rebounds and nine assists, but also made four turnovers.
Barrett’s decisive basket hit off the back rim and bounced high above the backboard before falling through as the sellout crowd of 19,919 roared.
“Sometimes the basketball gods aren’t with you,” Atkinson said.
The high bounce on Barrett’s winning basket kept Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic on edge.
“It was only half a second, but it felt like an eternity,” Rajakovic said. “I was happy for him, for this team, for this city, that the shot went down.”
Barrett felt good about his chances as he watched the ball bounce high.
“I thought it was still good because it went straight up,” Barrett said. “When it goes straight up, you have a chance.”
For Mitchell, the friendly bounce was reminiscent of an even bigger playoff basket north of the border: Kawhi Leonard’s four-bounce buzzer-beating winner against Philadelphia in Game 7 of the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals.
Rajakovic said he had a feeling before the game that Barrett was going to come up big.
“Call me crazy, call me psychic, but I saw this one coming tonight,” Rajakovic said. “It’s surreal.”
Mitchell said the loss wouldn’t change Cleveland’s focus for Sunday.
“Protect home court,” Mitchell said. “It doesn’t matter if we lost by 30 or two, protect home court. That’s all you can do.”
Barnes had 14 points and 10 assists by halftime, making him the eighth NBA player since 1997 with 14 or more points and 10 or more assists in one half of a playoff game.
Cleveland finished with 18 turnovers, leading to 25 points for Toronto.
The Raptors also held a big edge in fast-break points, outscoring the Cavaliers 20-6.
Raptors forward Brandon Ingram did not play because of a sore right heel. Ingram left in the second quarter of Wednesday’s 125-120 loss at Cleveland. His status for Sunday is uncertain.