Raptors start playoffs Saturday after besting Cavaliers in battle of benches
DeRozan, James among all-stars who sit as teams prepare for playoffs
Jonas Valanciunas made his first career 3-pointer and the Toronto Raptors closed the regular season with a 98-83 win on Wednesday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who didn't play their "Big 3" all-stars so they're playoff ready.
Norman Powell scored 25 points as the Raptors beat the Cavs for the first time in four tries this season and gave the defending champions something to think about if they meet in the post-season. Cleveland took Toronto down in six games in last year's Eastern Conference finals.
The Raptors will play the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, with Game 1 scheduled for Saturday at 5:30 pm ET at the Air Canada Centre.
The Eastern Conference lineup is finally set. <a href="https://t.co/a9uw4zKhmg">pic.twitter.com/a9uw4zKhmg</a>
—@espnRaptors star guard Kyle Lowry is eager to get started.
"It's a new year and we've moved on to Milwaukee," he said. "Honestly, we can't worry about anything that happened before or in last season's playoffs. This is a heck of a time."
"We're looking forward to it (playoffs)... We'll be ready to go."<br><br>KLow postgame sound: <a href="https://t.co/EuO6O4yJVw">https://t.co/EuO6O4yJVw</a> <a href="https://t.co/RjHcQMvDQ5">pic.twitter.com/RjHcQMvDQ5</a>
—@RaptorsAlthough there was still a chance to secure the No. 1 seed in the East, the Cavs put more value on rest and sat LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Cleveland fell to 0-4 in games this season without the trio and 0-8 minus James.
The game looked more like a preseason exhibition than a matchup between two of the league's top teams. Both Toronto coach Dwane Casey and Cleveland's Tyronn Lue opted to get players off their feet and played reserves after halftime.
The biggest highlight was Valanciunas' long shot.
Playing in his 363rd career game, the 7-foot Lithuanian caught a pass and transition and stepped behind the line before knocking down just his second 3-point attempt. He backpedaled on defense and raised his arms in triumph as his teammates celebrated as if he had just hit a game-winner.
"I wanted to smile, but I knew we had a long way to go in the game," Casey said.
The Cavs did get forward Tristan Thompson back after he missed four games with a sprained right thumb. Wearing a brace that he'll sport in the playoffs, Thompson scored 10 points in 18 minutes.
Cleveland also got its first look at newly signed 7-foot-3 centre Edy Tavares, who blocked six shots and grabbed 10 rebounds.