TORONTO — Kyrie Irving scored 26 points including the winning basket and LeBron James added 21 as the Cleveland Cavaliers staved off several fourth-quarter Toronto comeback attempts Friday to defeat the Raptors 94-91.
DeMar DeRozan, who combined with Jonas Valanciunas for 72 points in Toronto's season-opening win over Detroit, led the way again with 32 points. Kyle Lowry had 17 while Valanciunas had 10 points and 17 rebounds.
James had a relatively quiet night, despite registering some sumptuous assists, as Irving and Kevin Love dominated the scoresheet early. James hit the 10-point plateau late in the third quarter to extend his double-digit scoring streak to 719 games.
Love finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The Raptors, who had trailed by as many as 12, closed to 66-65 with a 9-0 run late in the third quarter. Cleveland led 71-67 entering the final quarter. Toronto mounted another charge, cutting the margin to 76-75 on a 6-0 run that was fuelled by two Cory Joseph baskets and one from rookie Jakob Poeltl.
But each time the Raptors rallied, Cleveland answered. Toronto kept coming and finally tied it up at 86-86 on Lowry's two free throws with 3:42 remaining.
Lowry put Toronto ahead, after being fouled by James, for the first time 89-88 on another free throw with 2:37 left. Three James free throws gave Cleveland a 91-89 lead but a DeRozan dunk tied it. Then Irving sank a three-pointer to make it 94-91.
A review gave Toronto the ball with .3 seconds remaining but Lowry missed a Hail Mary shot from long range.
DeRozan's final basket in the third quarter gave him 66 points over the first two games of a season, surpassing Vince Carter's record of 65 set at the start of the 2003-04 season.
The evening was not a thing of beauty with the each teams having 18 turnovers, but the ending was exciting.
For fans, the game was an early test of the Raptors' 2016-17 credentials, coming five months after losing the Eastern Conference final to the Cavaliers in six games.
Toronto coach Dwane Casey was not about to read too much into Game 2 of the season, however.
"It's a good game but it's early in the year," he said beforehand. "It's too early to say 'Hey this is where we are, this is who we are, but a good test for us."
"It's not the end of the world or the beginning of the world, either," he added.
Fans in Cleveland were likely more concerned with Game 3 of the World Series against the Cubs.
Neither team was hot out of the gate. Toronto missed eight of its first nine shots while Cleveland was 3-for-9.
James missed his first two shots but soared high for a layup on his third attempt, feeding Canadian Tristan Thompson with a beautiful pass later in the quarter. There was another beauty in the second quarter, an over the-shoulder delivery with his back to the basket to a streaking Irving.
It took DeRozan more than seven minutes to get on the board. But he finished with eight points as the Raptors trailed 28-23 at the end of a first quarter that saw the Cavs go foul-free and both teams shoot 11-for-24.
Toronto got to within two at 38-36 in the second quarter with Patrick Patterson making a three-pointer after an acrobatic DeMarre Carroll rebound. But the Cavaliers reeled off a 12-4 run to end the half leading 50-40.
Twelve first-half turnovers did not help the Raptors cause. Love was one rebound short of a first-half double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Carroll threw his body around, crashing into a photographer in one lunge for the ball.
Toronto rookie Pascal Siakim started for the second game in a row but his first-half appearances were short with three fouls in six minutes.
Both teams won their season openers. DeRozan, with 40 points, and Valanciunas, with 32, became the first teammates to score 40 and 30 points in a season opener, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, as Toronto beat the Pistons 109-91. Cleveland thumped New York 117-88.
NOTES: Cavaliers forward Channing Frye did not make the trip after his mother passed away from cancer ... Raptors centre Lucas Nogueira remained sidelined with an ankle sprain sustained in the final pre-season game.
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