Deadspin | Raptors ‘expect the unexpected’ from Cavaliers in Game 4 
Apr 23, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett (9) celebrates as Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) tries to walk away during the second half of game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images The Toronto Raptors understand they must be ready for anything Sunday afternoon when they attempt to even their Eastern Conference first-round series with the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after the Raptors’ 126-104 home victory in Game 3 on Thursday.
“Every game in this series so far, it was different,” Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said. “So every game we’ve got to expect the unexpected. We’ve got to be ready for it. We’ve got to have some counters and some ideas how we want to react in those moments. And most importantly, we’ve got to stay together throughout the whole 48 minutes.”
The Raptors ran away from the Cavaliers with a 43-23 margin in the fourth quarter. The surge was ignited by reserve Jamison Battle, who scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter by going 5-for-5 from the floor — including 4-for-4 from 3-point range.
The Cavaliers sat through this movie before. Battle sank all seven of his shots from the floor — including six from 3-point range — during his 20-point performance in Toronto’s 112-101 victory on Oct. 31 at Cleveland.
“This is not the first time to see Jamison Battle perform this way,” Rajakovic said. “Ultimate professional, always keeping himself ready, puts an enormous amount of work in every single day.”
“He’s a shooter,” said Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, who was held to 15 points Thursday after scoring 62 in the first two games.
“He gets open, and once you see one go in, it goes from there, right? So credit to him, credit to them. But, you know, we’ve got to be better, and we’ll fix it.”
While Mitchell and James Harden (18 points) encountered some trouble, the Raptors received 33 points each from Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett, both career playoff bests. Reserve Collin Murray-Boyles added 22 points, which set the team’s postseason record for a rookie.
Jamal Shead had five of Toronto’s 11 steals that contributed to Cleveland’s 22 turnovers leading to 23 points.
Harden committed eight turnovers in Game 3.
“For me, I’ve got to be better,” Harden said. “I think all of us. Just turning the basketball over, giving them just easy points off transition opportunities. The first two games we did a good job. Give them credit, like they had a different game plan and were causing turnovers.”
“We didn’t do the dirty work that’s necessary to win on the road,” said Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson.
The Raptors played with more energy in Game 3, yet the Cavaliers trailed by only two points entering the fourth quarter.
“The force was just way on their side, their ability to kind of be the more aggressive team,” Atkinson said. “Just kind of that simple.
“We’ll clean up the tactical things in terms of doing the dirty work, stuff we talked about.
“You know, the defense has got to be better, you know, in the fourth quarter, we started missing coverages, got backdoored, lost our focus. …we could not get a stop, then Battle came in and really gave them a boost. So this is the playoffs. This is what it’s like.”
The Raptors said on Friday that Immanuel Quickley has been ruled out for the rest of the series. Toronto’s starting point guard missed the first three games of the series, and the team said he re-injured his right hamstring during his rehabilitation.
–Field Level Media
#Deadspin #Raptors #expect #unexpected #Cavaliers #Game
Apr 23, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett (9) celebrates as Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) tries to walk away during the second half of game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images The Toronto Raptors understand they must be ready for anything Sunday afternoon when they attempt to even their Eastern Conference first-round series with the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after the Raptors’ 126-104 home victory in Game 3 on Thursday.
“Every game in this series so far, it was different,” Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said. “So every game we’ve got to expect the unexpected. We’ve got to be ready for it. We’ve got to have some counters and some ideas how we want to react in those moments. And most importantly, we’ve got to stay together throughout the whole 48 minutes.”
The Raptors ran away from the Cavaliers with a 43-23 margin in the fourth quarter. The surge was ignited by reserve Jamison Battle, who scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter by going 5-for-5 from the floor — including 4-for-4 from 3-point range.
The Cavaliers sat through this movie before. Battle sank all seven of his shots from the floor — including six from 3-point range — during his 20-point performance in Toronto’s 112-101 victory on Oct. 31 at Cleveland.
“This is not the first time to see Jamison Battle perform this way,” Rajakovic said. “Ultimate professional, always keeping himself ready, puts an enormous amount of work in every single day.”
“He’s a shooter,” said Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, who was held to 15 points Thursday after scoring 62 in the first two games.
“He gets open, and once you see one go in, it goes from there, right? So credit to him, credit to them. But, you know, we’ve got to be better, and we’ll fix it.”
While Mitchell and James Harden (18 points) encountered some trouble, the Raptors received 33 points each from Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett, both career playoff bests. Reserve Collin Murray-Boyles added 22 points, which set the team’s postseason record for a rookie.
Jamal Shead had five of Toronto’s 11 steals that contributed to Cleveland’s 22 turnovers leading to 23 points.
Harden committed eight turnovers in Game 3.
“For me, I’ve got to be better,” Harden said. “I think all of us. Just turning the basketball over, giving them just easy points off transition opportunities. The first two games we did a good job. Give them credit, like they had a different game plan and were causing turnovers.”
“We didn’t do the dirty work that’s necessary to win on the road,” said Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson.
The Raptors played with more energy in Game 3, yet the Cavaliers trailed by only two points entering the fourth quarter.
“The force was just way on their side, their ability to kind of be the more aggressive team,” Atkinson said. “Just kind of that simple.
“We’ll clean up the tactical things in terms of doing the dirty work, stuff we talked about.
“You know, the defense has got to be better, you know, in the fourth quarter, we started missing coverages, got backdoored, lost our focus. …we could not get a stop, then Battle came in and really gave them a boost. So this is the playoffs. This is what it’s like.”
The Raptors said on Friday that Immanuel Quickley has been ruled out for the rest of the series. Toronto’s starting point guard missed the first three games of the series, and the team said he re-injured his right hamstring during his rehabilitation.
–Field Level Media
![Drew Brees became an NFL Hall of Famer with his brain as much as his arm Late in the first half of a Monday Night Football game against Washington during the 2018 season, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees walked to the line of scrimmage and surveyed the defense. The Saints faced a 1st-and-10 near midfield, with under three minutes to go in the first half.Seconds later, wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith was in the end zone and Brees was atop the NFL record books in career passing yardage, and the reason why is one of the many reasons he will be enshrined in Canton later this week.His ability to break down a defense in the blink of an eye.Brees’ career arc is like many of those that end in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. An undersized prospect coming out of Purdue, where he shattered the school record books, he slid to the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft, coming off the board at pick No. 32 to the San Diego Chargers. He was the second quarterback taken overall, behind only No. 1 pick Michael Vick.But it was his time in West Lafayette that put him on the path to Canton.“Look, I was 6-foot, 170 pounds,” Brees said to the Associated Press about his early days. “I wasn’t really the prototype of anything in football.”Because of that, Brees was not a highly recruited quarterback coming out of Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. Despite leading his team to a state title, and winning 5A Offensive Player of the Year, none of the major programs in state offered him a football scholarship, and Brees thought his professional path would be on the diamond, but not the gridiron.But then a call came from Joe Tiller, who was taking over the Purdue program and looking to install a pass-heavy offense.And looking for a quarterback.“Had I gone to Texas, I would’ve handed the ball off to Ricky Williams; if I’d gone to A&M, I would’ve handed off to Dante Hall,” Brees said years later. “I go to Purdue and I’m throwing the ball 50 times a game.”The numbers he put up in the Big Ten — where he is still fourth in career passing yards and fifth in career touchdown passes — opened the door to the NFL, despite the lack of prototypical size for a quarterback. Yet what allowed Brees to stay in the league for so many years, and rewrite both league and franchise history, was his mind. His ability to break down a defense in the blink of an eye, and punish the opposition for the slightest mistake.Which brings us to that Monday night in question, and that career yardage record.As noted above, the Saints faced a 1st-and-10 situation near midfield, and head coach Sean Payton called a variation of Four Verticals: “All Go Special X Shallow Cross.” Run out of a 3×1 formation, the concept pairs three vertical routes on one side of the field with a shallow crosser coming from the other side of the offense.Payton at one time called it one of his favorite route concepts to call on social media.This variant also tasked the running back, the dangerous Alvin Kamara, with running a swing route to the three-receiver side, in essence flooding the right side of the formation and stressing the defense in that direction. As the play begins, Brees flashes his eyes to the right, then sets his feet to throw to Kamara on the swing route.But in that blink of his eye, he sees defenders start to squat underneath, leaving Smith breaking wide open on his vertical route. Brees resets, throws to his wide receiver along the sideline, and makes history:To be sure, it is just one play, a snapshot in a lengthy career that spanned two different NFL organizations. One touchdown out of hundreds, and one completion out of thousands.Yet, it speaks to what Brees did over his career, and how he finds himself headed to Canton this weekend.“He was like [artificial intelligence],” said Payton, whom Brees selected as his presenter in Canton. “That ability to process fast — like, elite fast — is a really rare gift. He could just multitask comfortably.”The pinnacle of Brees’ career came in New Orleans under Payton, where he not only delivered the only Super Bowl title in franchise history but helped the city and community rebound after Hurricane Katrina. It was a leap of faith for both player and team, as Brees was coming off a shoulder injury that ended his time with the Chargers. While the Miami Dolphins initially were his next destination, the team balked at his shoulder injury, and the Saints stepped in.After going 3-13 the year before under Payton, New Orleans had nothing to lose, and took a chance on Brees.The marriage worked. Payton gave Brees the offensive design he always wanted to run in the league, and the freedom to push the envelope as a passer and a quarterback. Brees was setting protections at the line of scrimmage, and calling plays himself when the team went up-tempo.“He empowered me so much,” Brees said. “It made me that much more confident. And certainly I had that driving motivation to prove him right and to represent him.”Brees and the Saints represented the NFC in Super Bowl XLIV, where they took on Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. New Orleans won that game 31-17, a contest most remembered for Payton’s bold decision to try a surprise onside kick to open the second half. The Colts led 10-6 at the half, with the Saints getting a 44-yard field goal just before the break to pull within four, and Payton wanted to try and steal an extra possession.New Orleans recovered that surprise onside kick, and Brees connected with Pierre Thomas on a 16-yard touchdown pass minutes later to give the Saints a 12-10 lead. While Indianapolis regained the lead in the third quarter, the Saints scored the final 18 points of the game to win the franchise’s first — and only —Super Bowl title.Brees was named the MVP of Super Bowl XLIV, completing 32-of-39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns.The quarterback was motivated to prove Payton right when the Saints acquired him. That motivation pushed Brees to a Super Bowl title, and comes full circle this weekend in Canton, Ohio. #Drew #Brees #NFL #Hall #Famer #brain #arm](https://i0.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/gettyimages-1417721781.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.75768718795%2C100%2C78.484625624101&w=1200&ssl=1 "Drew Brees became an NFL Hall of Famer with his brain as much as his arm Late in the first half of a Monday Night Football game against Washington during the 2018 season, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees walked to the line of scrimmage and surveyed the defense. The Saints faced a 1st-and-10 near midfield, with under three minutes to go in the first half.Seconds later, wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith was in the end zone and Brees was atop the NFL record books in career passing yardage, and the reason why is one of the many reasons he will be enshrined in Canton later this week.His ability to break down a defense in the blink of an eye.Brees’ career arc is like many of those that end in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. An undersized prospect coming out of Purdue, where he shattered the school record books, he slid to the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft, coming off the board at pick No. 32 to the San Diego Chargers. He was the second quarterback taken overall, behind only No. 1 pick Michael Vick.But it was his time in West Lafayette that put him on the path to Canton.“Look, I was 6-foot, 170 pounds,” Brees said to the Associated Press about his early days. “I wasn’t really the prototype of anything in football.”Because of that, Brees was not a highly recruited quarterback coming out of Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. Despite leading his team to a state title, and winning 5A Offensive Player of the Year, none of the major programs in state offered him a football scholarship, and Brees thought his professional path would be on the diamond, but not the gridiron.But then a call came from Joe Tiller, who was taking over the Purdue program and looking to install a pass-heavy offense.And looking for a quarterback.“Had I gone to Texas, I would’ve handed the ball off to Ricky Williams; if I’d gone to A&M, I would’ve handed off to Dante Hall,” Brees said years later. “I go to Purdue and I’m throwing the ball 50 times a game.”The numbers he put up in the Big Ten — where he is still fourth in career passing yards and fifth in career touchdown passes — opened the door to the NFL, despite the lack of prototypical size for a quarterback. Yet what allowed Brees to stay in the league for so many years, and rewrite both league and franchise history, was his mind. His ability to break down a defense in the blink of an eye, and punish the opposition for the slightest mistake.Which brings us to that Monday night in question, and that career yardage record.As noted above, the Saints faced a 1st-and-10 situation near midfield, and head coach Sean Payton called a variation of Four Verticals: “All Go Special X Shallow Cross.” Run out of a 3×1 formation, the concept pairs three vertical routes on one side of the field with a shallow crosser coming from the other side of the offense.Payton at one time called it one of his favorite route concepts to call on social media.This variant also tasked the running back, the dangerous Alvin Kamara, with running a swing route to the three-receiver side, in essence flooding the right side of the formation and stressing the defense in that direction. As the play begins, Brees flashes his eyes to the right, then sets his feet to throw to Kamara on the swing route.But in that blink of his eye, he sees defenders start to squat underneath, leaving Smith breaking wide open on his vertical route. Brees resets, throws to his wide receiver along the sideline, and makes history:To be sure, it is just one play, a snapshot in a lengthy career that spanned two different NFL organizations. One touchdown out of hundreds, and one completion out of thousands.Yet, it speaks to what Brees did over his career, and how he finds himself headed to Canton this weekend.“He was like [artificial intelligence],” said Payton, whom Brees selected as his presenter in Canton. “That ability to process fast — like, elite fast — is a really rare gift. He could just multitask comfortably.”The pinnacle of Brees’ career came in New Orleans under Payton, where he not only delivered the only Super Bowl title in franchise history but helped the city and community rebound after Hurricane Katrina. It was a leap of faith for both player and team, as Brees was coming off a shoulder injury that ended his time with the Chargers. While the Miami Dolphins initially were his next destination, the team balked at his shoulder injury, and the Saints stepped in.After going 3-13 the year before under Payton, New Orleans had nothing to lose, and took a chance on Brees.The marriage worked. Payton gave Brees the offensive design he always wanted to run in the league, and the freedom to push the envelope as a passer and a quarterback. Brees was setting protections at the line of scrimmage, and calling plays himself when the team went up-tempo.“He empowered me so much,” Brees said. “It made me that much more confident. And certainly I had that driving motivation to prove him right and to represent him.”Brees and the Saints represented the NFC in Super Bowl XLIV, where they took on Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. New Orleans won that game 31-17, a contest most remembered for Payton’s bold decision to try a surprise onside kick to open the second half. The Colts led 10-6 at the half, with the Saints getting a 44-yard field goal just before the break to pull within four, and Payton wanted to try and steal an extra possession.New Orleans recovered that surprise onside kick, and Brees connected with Pierre Thomas on a 16-yard touchdown pass minutes later to give the Saints a 12-10 lead. While Indianapolis regained the lead in the third quarter, the Saints scored the final 18 points of the game to win the franchise’s first — and only —Super Bowl title.Brees was named the MVP of Super Bowl XLIV, completing 32-of-39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns.The quarterback was motivated to prove Payton right when the Saints acquired him. That motivation pushed Brees to a Super Bowl title, and comes full circle this weekend in Canton, Ohio. #Drew #Brees #NFL #Hall #Famer #brain #arm")
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