LOS ANGELES—-Channing Frye’s three-pointer in the final minute lifted the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 121-117 win over the Toronto Raptors in a tight contest between the two best teams in the Eastern Conference.
The Cavaliers beat their playoff rivals for the second time this season and the defending NBA champions appear to be an even stronger team than they were last season.
“We are a composed team. We have seen everything. It is not a situation we haven’t been in before. The coach drew up a great play we just tried to execute it to perfection,” Cavaliers star LeBron James said.
Frye has made 11 three-pointers in his last two games and the Cavs took a lead against the Raptors in the season series, something that could become important when home-court advantage is at stake.
“He’s been great. He’s just a difficult matchup,” James said of Frye. “We have a great lineup, and his ability to spread the floor and shoot the ball like he’s been able to do and also guard bigs and help out on the glass has been a great thing for our team.”
These teams met in the conference finals last season.
James fell one rebound shy of a triple-double with 28 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds in front of a crowd of 20,500 at Quicken Loans Arena. He had six assists in the fourth quarter.
In Miami, Dennis Schroder led a balanced offense with 18 points as the Atlanta Hawks won their fifth game in a row, defeating the struggling Miami Heat 93-90.
Leading 89-88, Atlanta’s Kent Bazemore made two free throws with 11 seconds left. Miami’s Josh Richardson got a dunk on the other end, and Schroder’s two free throws rounded out the scoring.
The win may have been costly for Atlanta, as center Dwight Howard left the game in the third quarter with a quad contusion. He finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and three steals in 24 minutes.
In Portland, Jimmy Butler scored 27 points as the Chicago Bulls went wire to wire for a 113-88 victory over Portland at the Moda Center.
In Minneapolis, Kemba Walker scored 30 points and Nicholas Batum added 16 to power the Charlotte Hornets’ comeback in a 115-108 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves.