Deadspin | Donovan Mitchell, James Harden pace Cavs to 2-0 lead over Raptors 
Apr 20, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives on Toronto Raptors forward Sandro Mamukelashvili (54) during the first half during game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images Donovan Mitchell scored nine of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and James Harden had 28 points, lifting the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 115-105 win over the visiting Toronto Raptors in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Monday night.
The Cavaliers beat Toronto for the 12th straight time in the playoffs, tying the NBA record for a single opponent. Cleveland also has active streaks of 12 in a row over the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons, matching the mark established by the Los Angeles Lakers over the Seattle SuperSonics from 1980-1995.
Evan Mobley had 25 points and eight rebounds, making 11 of 13 field goal attempts for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, while Mitchel added seven boards and five assists.
Harden also had five steals and four assists, moving into seventh place all-time in the latter with 1,139 in his playoff career. Jarrett Allen added 10 points and three blocks for the Cavaliers in the wire-to-wire victory.
Scottie Barnes scored a playoff career-high 26 points for the fifth-seeded Raptors. Game 3 is Thursday in Toronto.
RJ Barrett had 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Collin Murray-Boyles scored 17 and Sandro Mamukelashvili chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Toronto. Starting center Jakob Poeltl had two points in the first quarter and did not play the rest of the game.
Toronto is 0-9 all-time at Cleveland in the postseason. Brandon Ingram, who was limited to nine shots in Game 1, had seven points on 3-of-15 from the field and went scoreless in the opening half.
Raptors point guard Immanuel Quickley (right hamstring strain) practiced Sunday, but missed his second straight game. Coach Darko Rajakovic said he “is progressing,” but did not speculate on his status for the remainder of the series.
Cleveland didn’t put the game away until four minutes were left, going up 104-90 when Mitchell drained a 3-pointer and scored in transition off a Harden steal.
Dean Wade made a 3-pointer midway through the third, giving the Cavaliers the largest lead to that point at 71-55, but Toronto ended the period on a 22-13 run to get back within seven. Barnes scored eight points in the surge and Ja’Kobe Walter had six.
Cleveland held a 54-48 advantage at intermission, but the Raptors kept it close as Barnes scored nine points and Barrett had eight in the second quarter. Harden was the high man in the half with 16 points and Mitchell had 15.
Cleveland won the opener 126-113.
–Field Level Media
#Deadspin #Donovan #Mitchell #James #Harden #pace #Cavs #lead #Raptors
Apr 20, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives on Toronto Raptors forward Sandro Mamukelashvili (54) during the first half during game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images Donovan Mitchell scored nine of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and James Harden had 28 points, lifting the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 115-105 win over the visiting Toronto Raptors in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Monday night.
The Cavaliers beat Toronto for the 12th straight time in the playoffs, tying the NBA record for a single opponent. Cleveland also has active streaks of 12 in a row over the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons, matching the mark established by the Los Angeles Lakers over the Seattle SuperSonics from 1980-1995.
Evan Mobley had 25 points and eight rebounds, making 11 of 13 field goal attempts for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, while Mitchel added seven boards and five assists.
Harden also had five steals and four assists, moving into seventh place all-time in the latter with 1,139 in his playoff career. Jarrett Allen added 10 points and three blocks for the Cavaliers in the wire-to-wire victory.
Scottie Barnes scored a playoff career-high 26 points for the fifth-seeded Raptors. Game 3 is Thursday in Toronto.
RJ Barrett had 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Collin Murray-Boyles scored 17 and Sandro Mamukelashvili chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Toronto. Starting center Jakob Poeltl had two points in the first quarter and did not play the rest of the game.
Toronto is 0-9 all-time at Cleveland in the postseason. Brandon Ingram, who was limited to nine shots in Game 1, had seven points on 3-of-15 from the field and went scoreless in the opening half.
Raptors point guard Immanuel Quickley (right hamstring strain) practiced Sunday, but missed his second straight game. Coach Darko Rajakovic said he “is progressing,” but did not speculate on his status for the remainder of the series.
Cleveland didn’t put the game away until four minutes were left, going up 104-90 when Mitchell drained a 3-pointer and scored in transition off a Harden steal.
Dean Wade made a 3-pointer midway through the third, giving the Cavaliers the largest lead to that point at 71-55, but Toronto ended the period on a 22-13 run to get back within seven. Barnes scored eight points in the surge and Ja’Kobe Walter had six.
Cleveland held a 54-48 advantage at intermission, but the Raptors kept it close as Barnes scored nine points and Barrett had eight in the second quarter. Harden was the high man in the half with 16 points and Mitchell had 15.
Cleveland won the opener 126-113.
–Field Level Media
![Brandon Aiyuk’s 49ers divorce keeps getting uglier Brandon Aiyuk’s war of words with the San Francisco 49ers reached new heights on Tuesday.In a video posted to social media, Aiyuk blasted the organization as “stupid” for paying him, and “mad” at themselves for how the team was handling the situation.The video came after Aiyuk posted one over the weekend, where he called the 49ers “little-ass boys” who needed to “stop running from the bill.”The two videos are the wide receiver’s first lengthy public comments since the team placed him on the reserve/left team list back in December of last year. Aiyuk has not played in a game for the 49ers since midway through the 2024 season, when he suffered a torn ACL.Prior to the 2024 campaign, Aiyuk was a hold-in during training camp until he agreed to terms with the team on a new four-year extension worth up to $120 million.Head coach Kyle Shanahan, along with general manager John Lynch, continue to assert that Aiyuk has played his last snap for the 49ers. Speaking at the team’s end-of-season press conference in January, the coach indicated he had lost contact with Aiyuk, going on to say that “eventually you understand that it’s not going to change and you’ve got to move on with your football team.”On that January day, Lynch explicitly said that Aiyuk had “played his last snap with the Niners.”Then at the end of March at the league’s annual meetings, Shanahan maintained that stance, but did not put a timeframe on a resolution.“I don’t have a date for it, but I know eventually it’ll resolve itself,” Shanahan said in March. “Hopefully, we could get something for [him]. And I know we’re in no rush to do that. You’ve got to do what’s right for the Niners, and you’re not trying to hook up any other team as fast as you possibly can. Hopefully, we can get something for that, and it’ll take care of itself.”As far as what that resolution looks like, many believe Aiyuk will find a home with the Washington Commanders. Aiyuk played with Jayden Daniels at Arizona State, and over this past weekend did share a photos of himself wearing a Commanders hat.However, he is still technically under contract with San Francisco through the 2028 season. And while the 49ers did void the guaranteed money he was owed for 2026, the guaranteed money Aiyuk is owed for 2027 is still on the books.NFL insider Ian Rapoport addressed the situation on Monday.“First of all, here’s what the San Francisco 49ers would like: They have his rights, he’s not due any guaranteed money because he forfeited that by not showing up to his rehab,” said Rapoport. “So, they would like to trade him, probably to the Commanders, with his old friend Jayden Daniels and an organization that obviously knows him well, considering (Commanders general manager) Adam Peters was in San Francisco, and all that.“What the Commanders would like to do is sign him without having to trade him. … We’re in a situation where nobody wants to move at all. They’re all staring at each other. There’s really no deadline to make a move at all. So, until and unless everyone gets tired of Brandon Aiyuk sending Instagram messages, this is going to be a storyline that takes us through the summer.”Happy offseason, everyone. #Brandon #Aiyuks #49ers #divorce #uglier](https://i1.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/gettyimages-2183567424.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C78.534031413613&w=1200&ssl=1 "Brandon Aiyuk’s 49ers divorce keeps getting uglier Brandon Aiyuk’s war of words with the San Francisco 49ers reached new heights on Tuesday.In a video posted to social media, Aiyuk blasted the organization as “stupid” for paying him, and “mad” at themselves for how the team was handling the situation.The video came after Aiyuk posted one over the weekend, where he called the 49ers “little-ass boys” who needed to “stop running from the bill.”The two videos are the wide receiver’s first lengthy public comments since the team placed him on the reserve/left team list back in December of last year. Aiyuk has not played in a game for the 49ers since midway through the 2024 season, when he suffered a torn ACL.Prior to the 2024 campaign, Aiyuk was a hold-in during training camp until he agreed to terms with the team on a new four-year extension worth up to $120 million.Head coach Kyle Shanahan, along with general manager John Lynch, continue to assert that Aiyuk has played his last snap for the 49ers. Speaking at the team’s end-of-season press conference in January, the coach indicated he had lost contact with Aiyuk, going on to say that “eventually you understand that it’s not going to change and you’ve got to move on with your football team.”On that January day, Lynch explicitly said that Aiyuk had “played his last snap with the Niners.”Then at the end of March at the league’s annual meetings, Shanahan maintained that stance, but did not put a timeframe on a resolution.“I don’t have a date for it, but I know eventually it’ll resolve itself,” Shanahan said in March. “Hopefully, we could get something for [him]. And I know we’re in no rush to do that. You’ve got to do what’s right for the Niners, and you’re not trying to hook up any other team as fast as you possibly can. Hopefully, we can get something for that, and it’ll take care of itself.”As far as what that resolution looks like, many believe Aiyuk will find a home with the Washington Commanders. Aiyuk played with Jayden Daniels at Arizona State, and over this past weekend did share a photos of himself wearing a Commanders hat.However, he is still technically under contract with San Francisco through the 2028 season. And while the 49ers did void the guaranteed money he was owed for 2026, the guaranteed money Aiyuk is owed for 2027 is still on the books.NFL insider Ian Rapoport addressed the situation on Monday.“First of all, here’s what the San Francisco 49ers would like: They have his rights, he’s not due any guaranteed money because he forfeited that by not showing up to his rehab,” said Rapoport. “So, they would like to trade him, probably to the Commanders, with his old friend Jayden Daniels and an organization that obviously knows him well, considering (Commanders general manager) Adam Peters was in San Francisco, and all that.“What the Commanders would like to do is sign him without having to trade him. … We’re in a situation where nobody wants to move at all. They’re all staring at each other. There’s really no deadline to make a move at all. So, until and unless everyone gets tired of Brandon Aiyuk sending Instagram messages, this is going to be a storyline that takes us through the summer.”Happy offseason, everyone. #Brandon #Aiyuks #49ers #divorce #uglier")
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