Raptors stun Cavaliers to square playoff series at 2-2

Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, Collin Murray-Boyles and even Brandon Ingram had their moments in ugly offensive game.

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Published Apr 26, 2026  •  Last updated 9 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

Raptors' Scottie Barnes celebrates the Raps' win against Cleveland Cavaliers in Toronto on Sunday, April 26, 2026. Photo by Nathan Denette /THE CANADIAN PRESS

One of the worst displays of offensive basketball in years ended up being a footnote to one of the more exciting Raptors playoff games in ages.

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Almost nobody could hit two shots in a row — most could barely nail one — but somehow, some way, the Toronto Raptors eked out a 93-89 victory over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers to send this first-round series back to Ohio tied at 2-2.

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A potential elimination game will now be played in Toronto on Friday.

The Raptors shot 4-for-30 on three-pointers, but the Cavs went 10-for-40 and weren’t as smothering defensively as the Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles-led Toronto juggernaut. A diving Jamal Shead forced an eight-second call late, RJ Barrett added to his playoff-leading fourth-quarter points total and the Raptors pulled off the near miracle, much to the delight of the crowd.

Barnes had 23, the same as Brandon Ingram, but Ingram (6-for-23 shooting) and Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell (6-for-24 for 20 points) both had brutal shooting games. Still, Ingram had his moments, Barrett sprung to life in the fourth, Murray-Boyles had a double-double, Jakob Poeltl had a strong fourth, and the defence was suffocating.

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Mitchell had appeared to put Cleveland in position to win with a 12-point, one-assist bonanza to give the team a six-point edge in the fourth, its biggest of the night.

But Ingram hit a three-pointer, Barrett was rolling and Shead followed his layup with an unreal diving play to force a turnover with 40.8 seconds left, Toronto trailing by a point.

Toronto turned to Barnes — who else? — and good screening freed Barnes up to get all the way to the rim. He missed a soaring, one-handed jam attempt that would have brought the house down, but was fouled. Barnes hit both free throws, but Cleveland still had a chance with 34.6 seconds left on the clock. Mitchell missed in the paint, Barnes hit two more free throws and with 20.1 seconds left, Murray-Boyles didn’t let Mitchell get a good look at the rim on a three-point attempt.

HOMETOWN HERO

Barrett deserves a lot of credit for the way he’s played and how he’s helped will the Raptors back into a series that looked pretty dicey after the first two in Cleveland. He might have been the most consistent Raptors scorer over the first three games (though the sublime Barnes, who became the first Raptor with at least 20 points in each of the first four games of a playoff season, also had a case) and them shook off a rough first three quarters on Sunday.

Barrett was shooting 3-for-13 through three. In the fourth that turned into a 5-for-9 run for 11 points. It was game-changing stuff for Barrett. Again. This time he had even more company.

Raptors fans will take any Raptor sparking things the way Barrett has. But to have a local kid doing it? Now that’s special.

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