The Cleveland Cavaliers’ longest homestand of the season began with a clunker against the surging Toronto Raptors, who outhustled and outplayed them for the second time in a 14-day span.
Cleveland looks to bounce back Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies, who are headed in a very different direction after losing seven of their last eight games.
“We’ve got a stretch at home where, hopefully, we can make up some ground,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Having a day off (Friday), which we really need, should help us get where we want to be for Memphis.”
Cleveland opened its six-game run at home Thursday with a 126-113 loss to Toronto that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The Cavaliers are 0-2 against the Raptors and 8-3 against the rest of the NBA.
Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points but missed seven of his nine 3-point attempts and committed seven turnovers, equaling his most in a game since February of 2024.
Making matters worse, Mobley and Mitchell were held out of Cleveland’s 130-116 road win Wednesday against the Miami Heat for rest. Neither was in rhythm against the Raptors as the Cavaliers wrapped up a stretch of five games in seven days.
“This was a test that I’d say we failed,” Mitchell said. “Playing five in seven isn’t easy, but these are things you have to fight through and, as a collective, we just didn’t do it. We’ve got to respond and play better for our home crowd.”
Cleveland will not have All-Star point guard Darius Garland (toe) and swingman Jaylon Tyson (concussion) in uniform on Friday. Both were injured Monday in the first half of a two-game set in Miami.
The Grizzlies are reeling from a 131-95 wire-to-wire loss at the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. They lost small forward Kentavious Caldwell-Pope during the defeat with right elbow soreness.
Vince Williams Jr. started at point guard for Memphis and scored 12 points with two assists. Ja Morant (ankle) could return against the Cavaliers, but Brandon Clarke (knee), Scotty Pippen Jr. (toe) and Ty Jerome (calf) are out.
“Vince Williams is a good player, but we have four point guards ahead of him injured right now,” Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “That makes it very tough against a team that’s aggressive in the full court.
“We know we can do better, and we know the situation is tough for us. We’ve just got to turn this into motivation.”
Memphis started the season 3-2 before its ongoing swoon, which has featured increased tension between Morant and Iisalo. The Grizzlies have allowed an average of 132.0 points in back-to-back road losses against the New York Knicks and Celtics.
Backup center Santi Aldama has been a bright spot, averaging 15.4 points and 5.6 rebounds over the last five games. Starter Zach Edey is working his way back from offseason left ankle surgery.
“We got bullied on the boards (58-41) and I think we gave up 40 second-chance points, against a Boston team that’s not particularly big or bigger than us,” Iisalo said. “We are struggling against certain teams, but it shouldn’t be because of (a lack of) effort.”
