James Harden said the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Game 7 win over the Toronto Raptors was built on defense, turnovers, and the kind of pressure this group had to learn to handle together.
“That it’s going to take all of us,” Harden said after Cleveland’s 114-102 victory on Sunday night at Rocket Arena. “Give Toronto credit. They’re a really good team, especially defensively. They get after you. They swarm the basketball. They create turnovers and get out in transition.”
The Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals after Jarrett Allen tied his playoff career high with 22 points and 19 rebounds, while Donovan Mitchell added 22 points and Harden scored 18 in a series where the home team won every game.
Harden said Cleveland’s ability to survive mistakes mattered early, especially after a sloppy opening stretch. “The first quarter and five minutes into the second quarter, the first 17 minutes of that game we had like 11 turnovers,” he said. “That’s their points.”
Toronto led for much of the first half and built a 10-point cushion in the second quarter, but Cleveland answered with an 11-2 run to close the half tied at 49. Harden said the turnaround came once the Cavaliers cleaned up their possession game.
“We just got to stop turning the basketball over, limit them to one shot, and everything else happens after that,” he said. “After that, we did that.”
Allen’s interior work helped drive the shift, and Harden pointed to the rebounding and second-chance battle as a game-changer. Cleveland owned a 25-8 rebounding edge during a 49-21 run that swung the game, including 10 offensive boards in that stretch.
“Him and Ev are aggressive and rebounding the basketball, finishing around the rim, they’re just in attack mode,” Harden said of the Cavaliers’ bigs. “We got two sides of the floor.”
Harden also praised the role players who helped the Cavs survive Toronto’s pressure. “Some guys are going to have to step up and they did throughout the entire series,” he said. “One game it was Dennis, tonight was JA, Ev, it’s an entire team and we’re going to need everybody in order to keep moving on.”
The veteran guard said the series showed Cleveland what it will take to keep advancing. “These games, these moments like this are tests for us,” Harden said. “The closer we come together, the more we communicate, talk about it, and figure out how to take advantage of them, the better off for us.”
Cleveland now turns quickly to Detroit, a tougher second-round opponent with a top defense and a short turnaround. Harden said the Raptors already provided a useful preview.
“We know what we’re facing,” he said. “They’re a really good team.”
