Cleveland - RJ Barrett says the Toronto Raptors must avoid falling behind early in Game 5 of their playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cleveland took a 2-0 lead at home, but Toronto evened the series with two wins at Scotiabank Arena. In both of those games, the Raptors had to rally after surrendering leads.
"I think we have to do a better job of not getting down eight or 10," Barrett said Wednesday. "On the road, we were in that position a bunch of times, down eight, down 10, and then with their crowd it could go the other way."
Toronto improved its defense, forcing guards Donovan Mitchell and James Harden into isolation plays. Barrett also stressed the need to limit offensive rebounds from Cavs bigs Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
Guard Ja'Kobe Walter, in his first playoff series, expects another low-scoring battle. "They're going to come out with the mentality that they've got to match our physicality," he said. "It's going to be a battle, a lot of execution, a lot of focus."