Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said the Game 4 loss in Toronto came down to the details that usually decide playoff games, and he pointed directly to the numbers after the Raptors tied the Eastern Conference first-round series 2-2 with a 93-89 win on Sunday night.
“Typical playoff game,” Atkinson said after Cleveland was held to 89 points and dropped both the possession battle and the free-throw battle. “I love our guys’ fight. We fought like crazy.”
Toronto outscored Cleveland 10-2 in the final 1:54 and took control at the line, where the Raptors made 27 of 36 free throws compared with the Cavaliers’ 15 of 23. Atkinson called that a decisive edge.
“We lost a possession game by 15,” he said. “Then we lost a free throw game by 13. So that’s really tough to win an NBA game and lose a possession game by 15.”
The Cavaliers also struggled to protect the ball, finishing with 18 turnovers, and Atkinson said Toronto’s swarming defense was the main reason. He praised the Raptors’ athleticism and said the pressure forced Cleveland into rushed decisions.
“They’re very athletic. They create a lot of chaos out there, a lot of double teams on the drives,” Atkinson said. “They’re trying to speed us up. I think they are speeding us up.”
Donovan Mitchell finished with 20 points on 6-for-24 shooting, while James Harden added 19 points but also had six turnovers. Atkinson said the answer is cleaner offense and better spacing as the series shifts back to Cleveland for Game 5 on Wednesday.
“We got to help James. I got to help James,” Atkinson said. “We got to help them with better spacing where we’re moving on when they do double team. And then just him and Don just keep making the simple play. Hit singles.”
Atkinson also said the Cavaliers are still in a normal playoff fight, not a crisis, even after dropping two straight in Toronto. “This seems like a typical playoff series to me,” he said. “We’ll look at the film before we decide our approach for next game.”
