CLEVELAND _ If Tuesday night's game between the Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors was a playoff preview, those who boast "We The North" are cringing today.
The Cavs eliminated the Raptors from the postseason the past two years, but this felt like their year. Coach Dwane Casey changed the Raptors' style of play from a slow, isolation game to one with more speed and ball movement and took them to the top of the Eastern Conference.
The last time the two teams met, the Cavs were without their top five rotation players and coach Tyronn Lue. Yet the Cavs' three-point victory still felt like a statement about Eastern Conference playoff superiority.
There was a sense that the wheels might be coming off for the Canadians at the worst possible time. Their lead in the East is dwindling and they host the second-place Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
There was also a sense that the Cavs were developing chemistry, even if there were stretches in which they were far from perfect _ like the final two minutes _ of a 112-106 victory at Quicken Loans Arena.
Blowing a 108-94 lead with 1:46 to go, the Cavs were forced to put their starters back in for the final 11 seconds. They needed two free throws from Rodney Hood with 5.3 seconds left to win for the ninth time in the past 10 games and for the seventh in a row at home.
The Cavs also took the season series 2-1 from the Raptors, who are 6-5 in their past 11 games.
Although Lue's leave of absence continued Tuesday night, the Cavs were nearly whole. Only point guard George Hill was missing with a sprained left ankle.
LeBron James scored 27 points and passed Kobe Bryant (941) for the third-most 20-point games in league history. He added 10 rebounds and six assists, but also lost five turnovers.
All of the Cavs' starters scored in double figures. Kevin Love pitched in 18 points and 15 rebounds, Hood had 17 points and Jeff Green 12.
But the night belonged to Jose Calderon, who played his best game as a Cavalier. The team's first free-agent signing, Calderon scored a season-high 19, making 7-of-11 shots, with four rebounds and four assists. He pitched in 14 in the first half on 6-of-7 shooting.
Calderon didn't miss a shot until 2:21 remained in the second quarter. On his second 3-pointer, he passed up the shot twice, then checked his feet before shooting it and the Raptors never came out to cover him.
The best of Calderon's performance started with 7:25 left in the second quarter, when he fed Love for a 3-pointer. On the next trip downcourt, Calderon and Love pulled it off again. Then Calderon came up with a steal off Serge Ibaka and fed Hood for a dunk on the fast break for a 45-36 Cavs lead.
Calderon, 36, could still be left out of the Cavs' playoff rotations despite his outstanding numbers. The Cavs improved to 23-9 with Calderon starting, 15-1 when he's in the lineup at the Q and 29-11 when he plays 10 or more minutes.
Guard Kyle Korver, whose 27-year-old brother Kirk died on March 20, played his first game since March 19. Rehabbing a sore right foot since rejoining the Cavs, Korver entered with 3:06 to go in the first quarter and converted a 3-point play on his first shot.
Korver finished with three points in 14 minutes.
Jordan Clarkson missed his first five shots and finished with just six points on 3-of-11 shooting.
DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 19 points, three rebounds and seven assists, Jonas Valanaciunas had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Ibaka 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Kyle Lowry, a Villanova product who attended the Wildcats' national championship victory over Michigan on Monday in San Antonio, scored just five points on 2-of-11 shooting.
In the last game against the Raptors on March 21 at the Q, the Cavs gave up 79 points in the first half, trailed by 15 and still won 132-129.
"Neither team played defense in that last game here," Casey said. "The first team that played defense was going to win that game. You don't want to get sucked into that."
But with four regular season games remaining, James was more concerned with playing well than the outcome.
"We want to try to play well. It's not because we're playing against Toronto," James said. "We have no other options right now because we're trying to find a rhythm and continue to build to see what we can make of this season for our ballclub. It's a good opponent. It's a worthy opponent. We look forward to that challenge, but beating them or losing to them, how we play is what matters most."
