of NBA The playoffs officially began on Saturday, but Toronto Raptors they didn’t get the start they expected.
Toronto fell 126-113 to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series, marking the team’s first playoff appearance in four years.
The playoffs follow the NBA play-in tournament, which ran from Tuesday to Friday and determined the bottom two seeds in each conference.
The teams that lost in the play-off were eliminated, while the winners advanced to the first round.
Get daily national news
Get Canada’s daily news delivered to your inbox so you never miss the top news of the day.
While the Raptors kept things close in the first half on Saturday, Cleveland pulled away in the second half, building a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter.
RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes led Toronto’s offense, with Barrett scoring 24 points – the most ever by a Canadian in a Raptors playoff debut.
For Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points, while Max Strus added 24 off the bench in a playoff career high. James Harden scored 22 points and 10 assists, and Evan Mobley chipped in with 17 points and seven rebounds.
Outside Scotiabank Arena, fans gathered in Jurassic Park, with many braving rainy conditions to watch the game.
For many, the playoff atmosphere brought back memories of 2019, when Toronto won its first NBA championship.
Despite the loss in Game 1, fans said they remain confident the team can bounce back in the best-of-seven series.
Game 2 is set for Monday in Cleveland.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
