by CLEVELAND, OH – Cleveland used their dominance at the rim to defeat the Toronto Raptors 126-113 to open the 2026 Eastern Conference playoffs today at home. They outrebounded Toronto 33-27 while scoring over 25 points in the paint to take firm control of the series.
Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 32 points while his backcourt running mate James Harden put in 22. The big men Evan Mobley (17) and Jared Allen (10) combined for 27 points while each also had 10 rebounds a piece. Max Strus was incredible off the bench with 24 big points while racking up 24 minutes and draining 4 from behind the line.
Overall the Cavaliers were hot from beyond the three point line as they went 16 of 32 from deep while James Harden and Donovan Mitchell drained 4 each. This went nicely as Cleveland also went 22 of 28 from the charity stripe as well.
Cleveland led early and often and took a dominating 97-76 into the final quarter, giving their backups a chance at some solid minutes along with a rest for those who needed it. Game two is this Tuesday night in Cleveland.
