Three Takeaways From Cavs' Last-Second Game 3 Win Over Raptors

LeBron James just keeps tormenting Raptors fans. After Toronto battled back from being down by as many as 17 points on Saturday night to tie Game 3 late in the fourth quarter, James added to his legendary highlight reel with a buzzer-beater off the glass to give the Cavs a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Raptors will now have to look to do something that no other team has done in NBA history — come back from a 3-0 deficit. For the Raptors, who have now lost nine straight playoff games to James and the Cavs, it's a matter of extending the series as long as possible, starting with Game 4 on Monday night.

Here are three takeaways from Cleveland's 105-103 win over Toronto...

LeBron James cannot be stopped

OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam did as good a job as they possibly could to try and get LeBron off his game. They were far more physical with James in Game 3, and at times, it appeared as though they were succeeding in frustrating him.

But in the end, they were never going to stop the four-time MVP. James posted a game-high 38 points, seven assists, six rebounds and the dagger that has put the Raptors in a 3-0 hole.

James was incredible in the Cavs' sweep of the Raptors last season, averaging 36.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists on 57.3 percent shooting from the field. In the three games so far this series, he's averaging 35.7 points, 11.3 assists, 8.3 rebounds on 53.6 percent from the field.

Sometimes greatness is just too much to overcome.

Raptors hurt by turnovers

The Raptors finished in the top six in the NBA in terms of taking care of the ball. They averaged 13.4 turnovers per game en route to a franchise-record 59 wins.

In the first round of the playoffs against the Wizards, they were sloppy with the ball, averaging 14.2 turnovers per game. The Wizards were never truly able to take advantage of the Raptors' misplays, and Toronto escaped in six games.

The Raptors recorded 14 and 11 turnovers in Game 1 and 2, respectively. Those mistakes didn't necessarily lead to easy opportunities for the Cavs (two fast-break points, 11 points off turnovers), but it never allowed the Raptors to get any flow offensively. A series-high 17 turnovers in Game 3 once again stalled the Raptors' offense and didn't let them get into a great rhythm.

On the other side, the Cavs have only turned the ball over 19 times in three games.

Ball movement, or lack thereof

It was all about pace and space in the regular season for the Raptors, and in each of their first two games against the Cavs, they recorded 26 dimes. They returned to their old ways in Game 3, however, only managing to dish out 14 assists as a team.

They finally had some of their 3-pointers fall in the fourth quarter and rebounded well enough to stay within striking distance. Even Serge Ibaka showed signs of life.

But far too often, the Raptors relied on one-on-one plays and didn't put pressure on the Cavs' defense. Old habits tend to die hard, and in Game 3, that was the case.