CLEVELAND — The energy fans brought to Rocket Arena as the Cleveland Cavaliers took the court for Game 1 against the Toronto Raptors was mirrored by the team's efforts on the court. The Cavs aimed to "set the tone" for the opener of the first-round playoff series, and that goal was reached in their 126-113 victory Saturday afternoon.
Every Game 1 is important. Win or lose, it creates a foundation for the remaining games.
Now, the Cavs entered Saturday's game excited, but with some natural playoff jitters.
"It's the first game, you kind of have nerves. You're thinking about it all week and stuff like that, so you want to come out and have a good show in the first game," said Cavs forward Evan Mobley.
But throughout the entire game, the Cavs played off the energy from the crowd.
"I think the crowd helped us a lot. Cleveland has the best fans in the league, so that kind of helped us push all the way through to the end and we just played a complete game tonight," Mobley said.
The Cavs saw a little back-and-forth action in the first half, but some clutch plays down the stretch leading into the half gave Cleveland the start of what would become a comfortable lead over Toronto.
"It was nip and tuck, there’s back and forth, and we just kept saying in the timeouts, 'Stay with it. We’re going to get to separation. We’re going to get to separation.' And we needed that separation for our confidence going into halftime. You go in down four, down six, it’s a harder conversation with the players to trust what we’re doing. So that helps push the conversation forward when we go in there at halftime with our guys," said head coach Kenny Atkinson.
Cleveland entered the half up 61-54. It was a lead the Cavs would extend to as much as 24 points, not letting off the gas as they powered through to the 126-113 victory.
It was a full team effort, with major contributions like Max Strus' career playoff-high 24 points, James Harden's 22 points and 10 assists, and the bigs—Mobley and Jarrett Allen—combining for 27 points. But leading the way was All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell.
Mitchell scored 32 on Saturday, shooting 55% from the field and 57.1% from three. It marked Mitchell's ninth straight Game 1 with 30 or more points, the longest streak in the NBA.
"It's not something I'm searching for. It's just something that I'm just playing my game, and you get out there and try to set a tone for sure," Mitchell said.
The Cavs held the high-paced Raptors to three fast-break points; they outscored them 52-36 in the paint and showed off their depth with 40 bench points to Toronto's 30.
After the win, Atkinson praised his team's efforts.
"I’m going to do a cliché...It’s a set-the-tone thing. It really matters, right? How we started that game, Game 1 is important. Obviously, they came in confident and a physical team and talented team, but I thought right off the bat, we set the tone. I think it’s super important. Thinking of the game last night with Orlando, like, man, Orlando, Charlotte, you set the tone first and then it’s hard to come back from that, especially in the playoffs. Then we sustained obviously with our depth and talent," he said.
The Cavs will look to build off their dominant, tone-setting Game 1. It's the start they wanted to have, but they know if they want to keep the success going, they can't enter Game 2 lax.
"I understand that no game is the same, really, in the playoffs. I got to go back and watch the film, but I'm pretty sure they're going to change things up and it’s natural in a playoff series. So you try to be aggressive, you try to have your imprint on the game. And I think the biggest thing for Game 2 is just understanding that it's going to be even tougher. I mean, it may be grab and hold more, it may be press more, it may be whatever. You just be ready for anything. And that's not just this series. It's every series I've been in, just being ready for whatever. And that's not just me. It's a team thing as well. So just being ready for whatever comes and you watch the film and you try to get better," Mitchell said.
The Cavs and Raptors tip off Game 2 on Monday evening at 7 p.m. inside Rocket Arena.
