SAN FRANCISCO -- The Cleveland Cavaliers kept their flickering hopes alive with a hard fought victory in their home turf Tuesday night at the Quicken Loans Arena.
Dion Waters scored 24 points and Tristan Thompson tallied 15 and 13 rebounds and the Cavaliers narrowly escaped the Toronto Raptors, 102-100. Luol Deng also helped Cleveland's cause with an all-around performance of 19 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists.
The Cavaliers won despite surrendering a 19-point third quarter lead and trailing by one -- 95-94 -- late in the fourth quarter.
"Keeping our composure, that was the biggest thing for us tonight. We didn't get rattled and we made plays when we needed them. We kept pushing it, making the easy play, and playing with each other," Waiters told NBA.com.
The Cavaliers improved to 28-44, still 3 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the final playoffs spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Raptors, meanwhile, fell to 39-31 and dropped to fourth place in the East. The 40-31 Bulls, who beat the Indiana Pacers on Monday, took over third place.
Kyle Lowry top scored for Toronto with 22 and 10 assists. Terence Ross finished with 16 but All-Star DeMar DeRozan was held to 13 points on 5-for-16 shooting from the field. (RM)
Photo: Amir Johnson slams home 2 in Tuesday night's action. The Raptors lost to the Cavs, 102-100, at the Q Arena.
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