CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers desperately want to exorcise their postseason demons, and the franchise’s mission began in earnest when a best-of-seven first-round playoff series tipped off against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday, April 18, in Cleveland.
The fourth-seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, the Cavs went 0-3 against the fifth-seeded Raptors during the 2025-26 regular season, but all three matchups were long before Cleveland acquired point guard James Harden in a blockbuster trade on Feb. 3. The Cavs believe Harden better positions them for success, yet everyone involved knows the postseason is needed to adequately test the theory.
Tipoff for Game 1 between the Cavs (52-30) and Raptors (46-36) occurred at 1:09 p.m. Check below for updates throughout the showdown:
Jamal Shead avoids flagrant on foul on James Harden
With 4:48 left in the third quarter, James Harden and Jamal Shead became tangled. Harden took some contact to the neck area, resulting in a foul call on Shead. It was officially reviewed, but no flagrant was awarded.
The Cavs lead 85-66.
Max Strus leads Cavs to 20-point lead in third quarter
Max Strus has had a truly dynamic Game 1, and the Cavs have opened up a commanding 82-60 lead midway through the third quarter.
Strus has a layup and a 3 in the last minute, and he’s up to 19 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the floor off the bench, along with three 3s. The Cavs talked all season about missing his presence, both in terms of energy (movement) and shooting, and he’s been arguably the best player on the floor so far today.
Donovan Mitchell hit with elbow by RJ Barrett
Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell took an elbow while guarding RJ Barrett, who was driving to the basket after a Cavs turnover in the second quarter.
Mitchell was called for a foul on the play and quickly challenged it. Replays showed that Mitchell was hit by Barrett’s elbow on the way up, striking Mitchell on the jaw/face. Mitchell hit the floor also reaching for his face while calling for a review of the play at the same time.
Mitchell appears to be OK. Cleveland’s foul challenge was unsuccessful, as the contact from Barrett to Mitchell was ruled incidental.
The Cavs are up 35-33 with 11:24 left in the second quarter.
Cavs open third quarter on 6-0 run vs Raptors
Dean Wade dunked home a put-back from a miss, and the Cavs have gone on a 6-0 run to open the third quarter, expanding their lead to 67-54 with 10:12 left in the third quarter, prompting a quick timeout from Toronto.
Since the 3:38 mark in the second quarter, when it was a one-possession game with little separation, the Cavs have out-scored the Raptors 18-8.
Cavs lead Raptors at halftime of Game 1
The Cavs went on a 3-point run to end the first half and will take a 61-54 lead into halftime of Game 1.
The Cavs hit five of their nine 3-point attempts in the second quarter, many of them late in the half, with two coming from James Harden and the last from Max Strus.
Harden was arguably the Cavs’ main offensive catalyst in that first half, scoring a game-high 15 points with six assists. Donovan Mitchell is right behind him with 13 points and four assists. Evan Mobley is up to nine points and four rebounds.
The Raptors have had a very even-keeled offensive approach. Four starters (Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Jamal Shead) are all between 11 and 13 points.
One main storyline was how the Cavs would handle the Raptors’ league-leading fast break offense. In the first half, Cleveland held Toronto to just one transition point.
Cavaliers, Raptors Game 1 score update
This Game 1 has all the makings of a back-and-forth, grind-it-out matchup against two evenly-matched teams. The Cavs lead 41-39 with 6:33 left, and the home crowd is beginning to become frustrated with some foul calls.
With 7:40 left, James Harden threw an alley-oop pass to Evan Mobley, who slammed it home with one hand. Mobley, though, also has drawn his second foul, so he’ll have to be careful for the rest of the first half.
Jaylon Tyson quickly drew his third foul in only 3:44 on the floor. Of note, the Cavs had already played 10 players in the rotation by the first few seconds of the second quarter, though Tyson’s foul trouble might have been a contributing factor there.
Both teams are already in double digits for fouls in this game.
Cavs finish first quarter with a flurry and 35-31 lead vs. Raptors as Donovan Mitchell and Max Strus lead outburst
Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell drained a 3-pointer with 46.4 left in the first quarter to tie the score 31-31. On Cleveland’s next possession, small forward Max Strus made a driving layup with 25.6 seconds remaining.
Then Mitchell stole the ball from Raptors point guard Jamal Shead with about four seconds left, dribbled down the court and fired a pass to Strus for a layup at the buzzer. The successful shot survived a replay review, and the Cavs led the Raptors 35-31 at the end of the first quarter.
Mitchell led the Cavs with eight points in the first quarter, followed by point guard James Harden with seven and center Jarrett Allen with six.
All-Star forwards Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes paced the Raptors with nine points apiece.
Cleveland Cavaliers wing Jaylon Tyson picks up his third foul with 1:40 left in first quarter
Well, Cavs wing Jaylon Tyson got himself into foul trouble in a hurry, picking up his third foul with 1:40 left in the first quarter and immediately checking out.
The silver lining is Raptors forward Brandon Ingram somehow missed both subsequent foul shots. At the time, Toronto led 27-24.
Tyson had played just 3 minutes, 44 seconds off the bench when he was called for his third foul.
Cavaliers trail Raptors 22-20 with 2:55 left in first quarter
For those wondering whether Cavs second-year wing Jaylon Tyson would play a prominent role in this series, he checked into the game with 5:24 left in the first quarter. Point guard James Harden proceeded to nail a 3-pointer with five minutes left, giving Cleveland an 18-17 edge.
As Cavs forward Evan Mobley made a pair of free throws with 3:25 left in the first quarter to cut Cleveland’s deficit to 21-20, Raptors forward Scottie Barnes returned to the game after sitting earlier with two fouls. Mobley needs a confidence boost at the free-throw line. He has been trying to overcome a slump in this area and entered the postseason with a shooting percentage of 60.6% on foul shots.
Speaking of free throws, Raptors All-Star forward Brandon Ingram split a pair of foul shots with 3:09 left in the first quarter. Toronto led 22-20, and the score remained the same during a timeout with 2:55 remaining.
Raptors All-Star forward Scottie Barnes picks up second foul with 7:21 left in the first quarter, and Cavs take 13-11 lead with 7:15 remaining
Raptors All-Star forward Scottie Barnes picked up his second foul of the game with 7:21 left in the opening quarter and immediately checked out of the game. The officials whistled Barnes for contact with Cavs center Jarrett Allen. This development gave the Cavs some relief because Barnes has six points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field, including 2-of-2 shooting on 3-pointers.
The Cavs immediately made the Raptors pay. Guard Donovan Mitchell drained a 3-pointer, and the Cavs took a 13-11 lead preceding a timeout with 7:15 remaining in the first quarter.
One note about the Cavs’ strategy: Shooting guard Sam Merrill was Cleveland’s first player off the bench. He checked into the game with 7:39 left in the first quarter, and Cavs forward Evan Mobley took a break.
Cavs center Jarrett Allen looks like he’s feeling good out of the gate while playing through knee tendonitis
The Cavs trailed 5-4 with 9:24 left in the first quarter, but their first two baskets provided some good news.
Starting center Jarrett Allen accounted for the Cavs’ first four points with two dunks. Allen is playing through right knee tendonitis, so his health will be a key to this series.
Allen made another dunk, this one on a drive to the basket, with 8:14 left in the first quarter, tying the score 8-8.
Below is some pregame information.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert delivers message to Cavaliers fans prior to Game 1
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert tweeted a message directed toward Cavaliers fans on the morning of April 18.
Here it is:
Cavs injury report vs. Raptors for Game 1
The Cavs ruled out backup center Thomas Bryant (left calf strain) for Game 1. Bryant missed the final four games of the regular season with the injury.
Toronto Raptors injury report vs. Cleveland Cavaliers for Game 1. Raptors rule out Immanuel Quickley
The Raptors listed starting point guard Immanuel Quickley (right hamstring strain) as questionable to play in Game 1. But during pregame media availability, Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said Quickley has been ruled out for Game 1.
Quickley left the Raptors’ regular-season finale April 12 against the Brooklyn Nets with right hamstring tightness. The next day, the Raptors announced Quickley had undergone medical imaging, leading him to be diagnosed with “a mild hamstring strain.” At the time, the Raptors described Quickley’s status as day to day.
Cavaliers starters vs. Raptors in Game 1
Here are the Cavs’ starters for Game 1:
Raptors starters vs. Cavs in Game 1
Here are the Raptors’ starters for Game 1:
How to watch Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors. TV, streaming and radio info for Game 1 of Cavs playoffs
Game 1 between the Cavs and Raptors will be televised nationally by Prime Video. The local radio broadcast can be heard via WTAM (1100-AM) or WMMS (100.7-FM).
Cavs vs. Raptors prediction
Our Game 1 predictions can be found here.
And our series predictions can be found here.
Cavaliers, Raptors 2026 playoffs schedule
Here is the schedule for the Cavs-Raptors series, with the dates and times the NBA has announced thus far:
Eastern Conference playoff bracket 2026
Recent Cavs playoff history
This is the fourth consecutive season the Cavs have made the playoffs.
Here are the results from their previous three playoff appearances:
The Akron Beacon Journal sports department can be contacted via email at bjsports@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavaliers score, live updates, injury report vs Raptors, Game 1
Reporting by Ryan Lewis and Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
