In the Toronto Raptors’ 126-104 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday in the NBA Playoffs, former South Carolina forward Collin Murray-Boyles turned in a strong performance to help lead his team to a victory.

In 28 minutes of play off the bench on Thursday, Murray-Boyles scored 22 points on an efficient 11-of-15 shooting against the Cavaliers. The rookie forward also logged eight rebounds, which included five coming on the offensive glass, two assists, a steal and a block in the Game 3 victory.

According to a post on X by the team, Murray-Boyles is the first Raptors’ rookie to score 20 or more points in the postseason.

“Just felt all the energy, especially from the fans,” Murray-Boyles said in his postgame press conference. “My first time being in something like this. I don’t think it could have been any better. We felt it. Everybody on the bench felt it. It really helped us tonight.”

“Really, just not being afraid of the moment,” he added on what led to his performance. “Some really good guys we are playing against. A really good team. Have one of my favorite players on that team. Just not being scared of who we are going against. Really, just taking it to them and trying to be as aggressive as possible because we need that from everybody. … Really, just do our best to kill their momentum and just make runs.”

CMB FINISHES THAT 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/MNqnMN4PpP

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 24, 2026

Raptors’ head coach Darko Rajakovic was impressed with what he saw from Murray-Boyles in the win over the Cavaliers.

“He is a warrior, to be honest with you,” he said. “He is stepping on the floor and fighting, giving it all and defending and rebounding. Creating space with his rolls. I thought he was ultra-aggressive, and he needed to be. I thought he had a high-level performance tonight. I contribute that to his power of his will and really focusing on how to help the team. The former Gamecocks’ forward is off to a strong start in the series against the Cavaliers as he scored 14 points in Game 1, 17 points in Game 2 and 22 points on Thursday. He’s also pulled a combined 15 rebounds in Games 2 and 3.

Murray-Boyles, A.J. Lawson and the Raptors will look to even the series on Sunday in Toronto. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.

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