Cavs let Schroder cook in 4th, take 3-2 series lead over Raptors - ESPN

CLEVELAND — With the Cavaliers trailing at halftime of pivotal Game 5 of their first-round series against the Toronto Raptors, veteran Dennis Schroder delivered a message to the home locker room.

Then, in the fourth quarter, he led the team by example.

Schroder played the entire fourth, scoring 11 of his 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting to help the Cavs outscore the Raptors 25-17 in the quarter and seal a 125-120 victory on Wednesday. The Cavs own 3-2 lead in the series, with Game 6 set for Friday in Toronto.

«We needed to win this game,» Schroder said. «It's all about momentum. They had the momentum going into Game 5 because they won two in a row. We played in front of our fans and we didn't play how we should play.

»I felt like I had to say something to the group, so we can rise and go play Cavs basketball and play to our standards."

Schroder, a 32-year-old veteran who came to Cleveland in a February trade, said he implored the team to return to the principles it was built on by playing through its bigs — Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen — and with more aggression and energy.

The Cavs trailed 74-67 at the half and were down 103-100 entering the fourth quarter before Schroder's late surge helped them pull off the comeback. It was the first time the Cavs had won a playoff game after trailing to begin the fourth quarter since 2018, when they came back to beat the Raptors in the 2018 Eastern Conference semifinals, according to ESPN Research.

«When we were talking about trading for [Schroder], that was one of the things that came up: This guy has played in huge games in the NBA and then on the international scene,» Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. «This type of game fits him.

»He was, as we like to call him, Dennis the menace