By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
LeBron James scored 23 points and then sat out the fourth quarter, Kevin Love scored 25, and Cleveland unleashed tenacious defense on Toronto to regain control of the Eastern Conference finals with a 116-78 rout of the Raptors in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
On their court in front of 20,000-plus screaming, towel-waving fans following two straight losses in Canada, the Cavs opened a 34-point lead in the first half, pushed it to 43 in the second half and took a 3-2 series lead.
The only positive for Toronto was Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas, who returned after missing eight straight games with a sprained right ankle. He scored nine points in 18 minutes. Still Cleveland toyed with the Raptors and now needs one more win in order to advanced.