Scottie Barnes put the home court Toronto Raptors on his back and carried them to the rim on Thursday, scoring 33 points to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 126-104 for the Raptors’ first win of the best-of-seven series.

Cleveland entered the game leading the Eastern Conference series 2-0, and carved out an early lead through the first three quarters of Game 3. But Barnes, alongside rookies Collin Murray-Boyles and Jamison Battle, kept the game tight until the Raptors could break out with 43 points in the final period to Cleveland’s 23.

Murray-Boyles and Battle combined for 36 points, while RJ Barrett contributed another 33. Brandon Ingram struggled to find a rhythm, but so did most of the Cavaliers. James Harden, Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell combined for just 43 points a game after they each scored at least 25.

Toronto came out and played much more physical basketball than they had in the first two games, capitalizing on high-quality shots in the paint and forcing the Cavaliers into bad looks and sloppy passes. It was enough to wake up Jurassic Park and put themselves on the board.

The Raptors will be at home for Game 4 against the Cavaliers. Tipoff is Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Here are two key takeaways

Barnes does it all for Toronto

The moment the Toronto Raptors lost the opening tip, Barnes found Harden and looked him in the eyes. The intent was clear: He was going to be in Harden’s face all evening. He hardly made a false move from that moment on.

The Toronto Raptors are Barnes’ team, and there has been a long conversation about how equipped he is to deal with that responsibility. He is not a typical No. 1 option, lacking a silky jumper or an electric first step. He has will, though, and all of that was on display in the Raptors’ first playoff win since 2022.

Barnes did everything for the Raptors. He scored 33 points, making the first three 3s he took. He handed out 11 assists, finding particular synergy with rookie big man Murray-Boyles, who had 22 points. He took the vast majority of the assignment on Harden, who committed eight turnovers, and occasionally switched onto Mitchell. The star guards wrecked the Raptors in Cleveland. They had comparatively inefficient nights.

This was Barnes at his best, dictating terms on both ends. Thankfully, with the Raptors looking like they might waste the performance through three quarters, Barrett and Battle started splashing home 3s in the fourth to give Barnes the help that, through three stellar quarters, he had more than earned. The Raptors have a significant talent deficit in this series. Barnes is their retort. — Eric Koreen

An ugly loss for Cleveland

So this is what a Cavs’ loss in this series looks like.

Gross.

After the first two games, I was beginning to wonder what it might take for the Raptors to get a win, given how dominant Cleveland had been in so many facets. I’d settled on a few things: Toronto making one more defensive adjustment; the Raptors getting a big night from one of their stars; the Cavs helping them by playing terribly.

As it turns out, that was the recipe.

The defensive adjustment the Raptors made was a swarming, extended zone, which kept the Cavs out of the paint. Obviously, Barnes and Barrett were awesome. But wow, wow wow, were the Cavs collectively bad. So many turnovers, lazy defense in the paint and on the perimeter, poor shot selection. You name it.

It took bad games from BOTH Mitchell and Harden. The Raptors either baited, or forced, Evan Mobley into four 3s, and he missed them all.

This game was closer than the score indicated – tied at half and the Raptors barely ahead through three quarters. The Cavs wore down and spit the bit in the fourth. Too much went wrong at the same time to be concerned, for now. If either one of the superstars plays closer to his norm, the defense probably improves, the turnovers go down…it’s still the Cavs’ series to lose at this point.

But now we know what a Cleveland loss looks like, and it’s ugly. — Joe Vardon