CLEVELAND _ A week off.
An opponent hungry for revenge from last year's conference finals.
Troublesome shooting by Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in the first round and a defense that plays well only in bursts.
Even with the Toronto Raptors' now 1-12 record in the first game of a playoff series, there were concerns as the Cavaliers and Raptors squared off in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
All of those worries seemed unfounded as the Cavs surged to an 18-point lead early in the second quarter. Their dazzling display included an Irving alley-oop off the backboard that LeBron James slammed home with his left hand and a monstrous Iman Shumpert dunk over Serge Ibaka that seemed years in the making.
When the Cavs posted the video of James' dunk on Twitter, owner Dan Gilbert retweeted it with the comment, "I didn't know [at sign]King James was a lefty. Wow."
So much for rust.
But the adrenaline wore off. Cutting the lead to two in the second quarter, the Raptors tried to prove they would not be pushovers against a Cavs second unit that pulled off a 25-point halftime comeback against the Pacers in the first round. The Cavs' fourth-quarter heroes clearly didn't have it.
But the starters did. They hit 3-pointers. They played trapping, aggressive defense. They kept their turnovers to a minimum, with none in the second quarter and four through three quarters.
The result was a 116-105 victory before a raucous crowd that included new Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer and Joe Haden sitting alongside legend Bernie Kosar.
Things were going so well that when momentum carried James to the sideline when he was fouled on the way to the basket with 2:24 to go in the third quarter, he playfully grabbed a courtside server's beer and pretended to take a swig.
If only it had been a Labatt.
The Raptors acquired Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker in February with the main goal of playing better defense against the Cavs, who eliminated them in six games in last year's Eastern Conference finals.
But if there is a sense north of the border that the road to a championship goes through Cleveland, the Raptors don't appear to have done enough. The Cavs' second-quarter funk lasted only five minutes. James, Irving, Love and Tristan Thompson were on their games, while the Raptors' DeMar DeRozan (7-of-16 shooting) and Patrick Patterson (1-of-7) weren't.
The Cavs relied on a combination of "Playoff LeBron," brute strength and 3-point shooting to hand the Raptors their fourth loss in five meetings this season.
With 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, James scored at least 30 points in a playoff game for the 88th time in his career, tying Kobe Bryant for the second-most all-time, trailing only Michael Jordan (109).
He had able assistance from Irving, Love _ who survived a below-the-belt shot from Norman Powell with 5:23 to go _ and Thompson. Irving scored 24 points with 10 assists, Love added 18 points and nine rebounds and Thompson contributed 11 points and 14 rebounds.
The Raptors may prove more formidable in Air Canada Centre, which Cavs coach Tyronn Lue knows is a tough venue. But short of improving the performance of the second unit and defending Tucker and Kyle Lowry, the Cavs may have gotten everything on their wish list for Game 1.
Coming in, the Raptors defense ranked first in the league in points allowed (93.2) and fourth in opponent field goal percentage (.415) in the postseason. They held the Milwaukee Bucks under 100 four times after going 25-4 in regular season when keeping foes under the century mark.
If keeping the Cavs below 100 was a Raptors' goal, James shot that down with an 18-foot jumper with 9:03 remaining. The Cavs hit 46 percent from the field.
Considering the layoff, and even with the five-minute lapse, the defending champion Cavs' second-round opener was about perfect.
If only it had been a Labatt.
