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National Basketball Association
Cleveland 121, Toronto 117
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Officials: #35 Steven Anderson, #36 Brent Barnaky, #49 Tom Washington
Attendance: 20562

CLEVELAND -- Channing Frye likes to joke how he makes opposing centers allergic to paint. He brings them out to Frye-land, which is otherwise known as the 3-point arc.

Frye is excelling in Frye-land lately, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are enjoying the benefits.

The 10-year veteran's 3-pointer from the top of the arc off a pass from LeBron James in the final minute lifted the Cavs to a 121-117 win over Toronto on Tuesday, handing the Raptors their first road loss of the season. Frye has made 11 3-pointers in his past two games.

The Cavs (9-1) took an early 2-0 lead against the Raptors (7-3) in the season series, something that could become important when home-court advantage is at stake in the postseason. The teams met in the conference finals last season and are again two of the best in the East.

"The minute that (opposing center) touches the paint, it's over. Welcome to Frye-land," Frye said Tuesday. "There's too much room, I'm 7-foot and I have a green light, and I'm playing with maybe the best passer in the league (James). He's throwing darts out there."

With Oscar Robertson watching from close to the Cavs bench, James fell one rebound shy of a triple-double with 28 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds. He had six assists in the fourth quarter alone. Kevin Love scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Kyrie Irving added 24 points. Frye scored 21 points off the bench.

"He's been great. He's just a difficult matchup," James said of Frye. "We have a great lineup, and his ability to spread the floor and shoot the ball like he's been able to do and also guard bigs and help out on the glass has been a great thing for our team."

The Cavs led 91-84 lead entering the fourth, but the reserves plus James couldn't hold it. The Raptors had the lead within the first five minutes, prompting Cavs coach Tyronn Lue to go back to Irving and Love with Cleveland trailing 107-101.

Irving quickly flipped that. His cutting basket off a nifty pass from James, followed by his corner 3-pointer, gave the Cavs a 113-112 lead with 1:57 remaining.

After DeMar DeRozan split a pair of free throws to give the Raptors a 115-114 lead, James found Frye at the top of the arc for his fifth 3-pointer of the night. The Cavs made 13 3-pointers in the game, meaning they have made at least 10 3-pointers in each of their first 10 games, an NBA record.

"They're shooting as many threes as anybody in the league right now," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "If a team is making 22 or 25 threes, you're going to have a hard night."

Toronto's Kyle Lowry scored 28 points and DeRozan added 26, marking just the second time in 10 games DeRozan failed to score at least 30. He began the night leading the league in scoring at 34 points per game.

"They executed to perfection at the end. They knew what they wanted to run," DeRozan said. "They hit some big shots. It's a learning tool for us to look back and see what we did wrong and do better next time."

The win came on the same day James blasted New York Knicks president Phil Jackson after the coaching legend referred to James' friends and business associates as his "posse." In a wide-ranging interview with ESPN, Jackson defended Miami Heat president Pat Riley and said James enjoys preferential treatment, adding that James wanted to stay over in Cleveland following a road game when he was playing with the Heat and it left Miami coach Erik Spoelstra in a tough spot.

"You can't hold up the whole team because you and your mom and your posse want to spend an extra night in Cleveland," Jackson said.

James responded by dismissing Jackson, acknowledging he had no relationship with the 11-time coaching champion and added that he lost all respect for him because of that comment.

"I don't believe that Phil Jackson would have used that term if he was doing business with someone else and working with another team or if he was working with anybody in sports that was owning a team that wasn't African-American," James said. "It just shows how far we have to go, but it won't stop us from doing what we need to do as a group."

NOTES: Cavaliers G J.R. Smith missed his second game with a sore right ankle. Richard Jefferson started in his place and scored five points. ... Raptors coach Dwane Casey said the Cavaliers' focus on the 3-pointer has made them more difficult to guard. "They're shooting as many 3s as anybody in the league right now," he said. "If a team is making 22 or 25 3s, you're going to have a hard night." ... The Cavaliers play at the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. ... Raptors F DeMarre Carroll sat out the game to rest. Carroll is coming off knee surgery and not yet cleared to play in back to back games. ... The Raptors host the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
Top Game Performances
 
Toronto   Cleveland
Kyle Lowry 28 Scoring LeBron James 28
Kyle Lowry 9 Assists LeBron James 15
Jonas Valanciunas 9 Rebounds Kevin Love 13
DeMar DeRozan 4 Free Throws Made Kevin Love 8
Kyle Lowry 4 Steals Kyrie Irving 2
Pascal Siakam 3 Blocks Kevin Love 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Toronto 117 47.9 13-29 12-18 24 40 5 11 8
Cleveland 121 53.0 13-33 20-28 26 46 7 4 17
Upcoming Games
  • Cleveland will play their next game on the road against Indiana. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .875 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Toronto will play their next game at home against Golden State. The Raptors have a W/L % of .571 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.