Despite their shooting problems, the Raptors manage to defeat the Cavaliers and tie the series: Takeaways
During a regular season that resulted in the team's first postseason berth in four years, the Toronto Raptors developed a habit of winning ugly. On Sunday afternoon, they went above and above.
In a crucial Game 4 inside Scotiabank Arena, the Raptors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 93-89 to even the series despite neither team being able to shoot consistently. The Raptors send the Eastern Conference first-round series back to Cleveland locked at 2-all as Scottie Barnes made six free throws in the final 34.6 seconds, contributing to an 11-2 Toronto rally to end the game.
The first half was unsightly, as the two teams combined for 74 points on 30.3-percent shooting (30 of 99) from the field. Neither team topped 40 points, marking the first time that’s happened in a playoff game in 11 years. And they had more than twice as many turnovers (18) as made 3-pointers (7).
The overall half-court slugfest aesthetic from the 1990s persisted even though the scoring increased in the second half. Cleveland didn't take the lead until Donovan Mitchell and Cavaliers teammate James Harden hit three 3-pointers during a 15-2 run in the fourth quarter. However, in the last 130 seconds, the Toronto defense limited the Cavaliers to only one basket, securing the victory and setting up a crucial Game 5 at Rocket Arena on Wednesday.
Here are some takeaways from Sunday’s game:
Toronto relies on intangibles in win
As a wise Radioactive Man once said, “The goggles do nothing.”
It’s a classic bit from “The Simpsons,” but it calls to mind the Toronto Raptors at their worst. For a team that made the playoffs, their offensive attack is a tough watch. If you love scoring, it can be like toxic acid rushing into your unprotected peepers in vicious waves.
The Raptors' 44.7 percent 3-point shooting accuracy prior to Sunday's game did not adequately reflect their difficulties when shooting from beyond the arc. The problem was clearly seen on Sunday. The Raptors dabbled with the Utah Jazz's record-breaking 3-point percentage (3 for 30, 10 percent) while making at least 30 3-pointers in a postseason game. Cleveland's defense tightened into a box, as was to be expected. Despite shooting 32 percent from the field, which is the lowest accuracy for a team that has won a playoff game since the NBA-ABA merger, they finished the day 4 for 30 from 3.
The Raptors have enough intangibles to keep games close, against all 2026 basketball logic. Even with All-Star Brandon Ingram scuffling, the Raptors kept grinding out possession after possession. That was perhaps best exemplified by the fact that, with the Raptors trailing by one point in the final minute, Barnes and Jamal Shead ambushed Donovan Mitchell, creating an eight-second violation. The Raptors did their job from the free-throw line and figured out a way. Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles didn’t bite with the Raptors up 3 and Mitchell trying to tie the game. Beyond his years.
As a result, the Raptors made it through the worst possible day. Perhaps the greatest Raptors victory of 2025–2026, it was a horrible thing of beauty.