Cleveland Cavaliers snap three-game losing streak, beat Raptors 116-112

Cleveland Cavaliers, the defending NBA champions, put an end to their three-game losing streak Monday courtesy of a 116-112 victory over the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada centre.

The Cavs, entering the game after suffering defeats to the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks last week, were going up against a strong Raptors team that had won 14 of their first 20 games.

LeBron James led the way for Cleveland with a tally of 34 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists from a season-high 42 minutes on the floor. James was forced to clock in additional minutes due to the knee injury suffered by starting two-guard J.R. Smith, who left the game in the first quarter after landing awkwardly on a jump shot. See final box score on ESPN.

Luckily for the Cavaliers, Smith's x-rays came back negative and the guard will be re-evaluated upon the team's return to Cleveland on Tuesday.

Season-high for LeBron James

Besides James, the other two members of Cavs' Big Three also had stellar nights, with Love making six out of 11 threes for a tally of 28 points and 14 rebounds. Kyrie Irving had 24 points and 7 assists from 37 minutes.

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For the Raptors, the star-studded backcourt of Kyle Lowry (24 points, 9 assists) and DeMar DeRozan (31 points, 5 assists) had good nights but they were let down by the rest of the Raptors -- as none of the other starters managed to score in double-digits.

DeMarre Carroll, guarded by James, had a forgettable night, making only 3/10 shots from the field for his 8 points. Centre Jonas Valanciunas made only 1/8 shots from the field and was dominated on the boards by Cavs counterpart Tristan Thompson, who had 14 rebounds.

In what was mostly a competitive game, the Cavaliers seized advantage during the third quarter when they went on a 23-11 run inspired by Love's shooting. This helped the Cavs take a 90-81 lead into the fourth quarter -- a lead they managed to hold onto despite DeRozan's late heroics.

With 24 seconds left in the game, DeRozan made a clutch jump shot to close the gap to five points. With 14 seconds left, the guard made another three-pointer but a television replay deemed the play out of bounds. Kevin Love made a few free throws down the stretch to ice the game for the Cavaliers.

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will next visit New York to face the Knicks on Wednesday. They are eyeing their eighth straight victory over the Knicks. Meanwhile, the Raptors stay at home to host the Minnesota Timberwolves.