Mitchell and Harden assist Cavaliers in defeating Raptors to take 2-0 series advantage.
CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell recorded 30 points, while James Harden contributed 28, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 115-105 win over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night, giving them a 2-0 advantage in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Evan Mobley added 25 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have seen at least three players score 25 or more points in a postseason game for the second consecutive season and the fourth time overall.
Cleveland — which never fell behind — has achieved 12 consecutive playoff victories against Toronto, equaling the NBA postseason record for the most consecutive wins against a single opponent. This streak commenced during the 2016 Eastern Conference finals when the Cavaliers won the last three games. Cleveland also swept Toronto in four games during the second round in both 2017 and 2018.
The Cavaliers have also recorded 12-game winning streaks against Detroit and Atlanta, while the Los Angeles Lakers had a 12-game stretch against Seattle from 1980 to 1989.
Scottie Barnes topped the Raptors with a playoff career-high of 26 points. RJ Barrett contributed 22 points and nine rebounds.
The series will move to Toronto for Game 3 on Thursday night.
Harden dished out four assists, moving him into seventh place on the playoff career list with 1,139. He also recorded five steals, marking the fourth instance he has achieved that number in a playoff game.
A driving layup by Barnes narrowed the gap to 99-90 midway through the fourth quarter. Mitchell then answered with seven consecutive points to secure the win.
The Cavaliers held a 73-57 lead midway through the third quarter before the Raptors responded with a 16-6 run.
