Scottie Barnes hit the go-ahead free throws in the final minute and scored 23 points, Brandon Ingram also added 23 points, and the Raptors beat the Cavaliers, 93-89, on Sunday, tying the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at two games apiece.
The best-of-seven series shifts to Cleveland for Game 5 on Wednesday.
RJ Barrett scored 18 points and Collin Murray-Boyles had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who won despite shooting 4 for 30 from 3-point range.
Barnes added nine rebounds and six assists.
Donovan Mitchell scored 12 of his 20 in the fourth quarter and James Harden added 19, but the Cavaliers couldn’t overcome an 18-turnover performance.
Mitchell missed two shots in the final 25 seconds, including a 3-pointer that would have tied the game. He finished 6 for 24 overall and made 4 of 12 shots from long range.
Sam Merrill scored 14 points and Jarrett Allen had 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were outscored 10-2 in the final 1:54 of the fourth.
With NBA commissioner Adam Silver in attendance, both teams struggled from 3-point range. Cleveland finished 10 for 40 from distance, including 5 of 10 in the fourth.
Spurs’ Wembanyama solid in return
Victor Wembanyama had 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 blocks in his return from a concussion, and San Antonio took a 3-1 lead in their first-round series against Portland with a 114-93 victory.
De’Aaron Fox added 28 points for the Spurs, who will return home to San Antonio for Game 5 on Tuesday night.
The Spurs announced about an hour before the game that Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4-inch Defensive Player of the Year, would play after clearing the league’s concussion protocol.
The Spurs trailed the Blazers by 17 points at the half, but the game was knotted at 74 going into the fourth quarter. Fox and Keldon Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointer to put the Spurs up 90-77 with 7:14 left.
Johnson’s dunk with 4:31 left made it 101-81 for San Antonio and all but sealed the win.
Deni Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 26 points. There was tense moment with 2:13 left when Avdija and Stephon Castle exchanged shoves. They were given offsetting technical fouls.
Balanced Rockets won’t go quietly
Amen Thompson scored 23 points, Tari Eason added 20, and Houston avoided elimination with a 115-96 rout of Los Angeles in Game 4 of the Western Conference playoff series.
Game 5 is Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
The Rockets got their first win in the series after falling into an 0-3 hole despite missing Kevin Durant for a third game thanks to a balanced scoring attack. Durant sat out a second straight game with a sprained left ankle after missing Game 1 with a bruised right knee.
Houston’s entire starting lineup scored at least 16 points with Alperen Sengun adding 19, Reed Sheppard 17, and Jabari Smith Jr. 16.
The Lakers were led by Deandre Ayton, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds before being ejected with about 5½ minutes left in the third quarter for a flagrant foul 2 on a hit to Sengun’s head. His output wasn’t nearly enough to allow the Lakers to close the series out on a night when LeBron James didn’t have his best game.
He had 10 points on 2-of-9 shooting with nine assists and eight turnovers before sitting with about 7½ minutes to go after scoring 19, 28, and 29 points in the first three games. But he wasn’t the only Laker who struggled. Los Angeles made just five 3-pointers after combining for 35 through the first three games.