TORONTO — When this series was etched into stone after the final day of the regular season, prognosticators wrote off the three earlier games these two teams had played, all of which the Toronto Raptors won.
It was early in the season, the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t have James Harden, and the Raptors were in the middle of their hottest stretch of the year — two of the three wins came during the Raptors’ season-high nine-game win streak.
But in their first meeting on Oct. 31, a 112-101 win that snapped an early four-game skid for Toronto and gave hope to a year that looked like it could get ugly fast, one unlikely player emerged as the saviour.
That same player did it on Thursday to once again save what was veering rapidly towards a lost season.
Needing a dose of shooting as usual three-point threat Ja’Kobe Walter was in and out of rhythm and foul trouble, the Raptors turned to Jamison Battle, the sophomore sharpshooter, to bail them out. Just like he did on Halloween, even if he doesn’t want to compare the two saving-grace performances.
“It’s in the past, and we’re not too focused on the past. You focus on the present. I think that’s the biggest thing for me,” Battle said after the 126-104 win. “We’re in a completely different series against a completely different team and we’re down 2-0. So I think the biggest thing on my mind was just trying to do whatever it takes to get the win.”
Playoff wins don’t usually come from unlikely sources. Sure, sometimes heroes emerge, but rotations are generally set this time of year and Battle hasn’t played more than 10 minutes since a March 25 showdown against the L.A. Clippers. He didn’t hear his name called in Game 2 and only suited up in garbage time in Game 1, but when the team needed him most, with their backs against the wall, he gave them everything.
Just like head coach Darko Rajakovic drew up.
“This is not the first time I’ve seen Jamison Battle perform this way. Ultimate professional, always keeping himself ready, puts an enormous amount of work in every single day. He goes through all the play groups, extra work, just to [be] physically ready,” Rajakovic said of his forward’s breakout night. “He has great conditioning, and tonight when he stepped on the floor, he was ready for the moment. So it means a lot to see all the work that he’s putting in to stay confident.”
On a night when Scotiabank Arena was a non-stop cacophony of cheers for the Raptors and jeers for the Cavaliers, the fans somehow got louder, more passionate, and felt close to that 2019 home crowd.
He gave the faithful four such instances, all of which came in the fourth quarter with the end result still very much in the balance. In all, Battle finished with 14 points on a perfect five-for-five from the field and four-for-four from deep, and was a +20 in his 16 minutes.
Battle nailed his first triple with 9:20 to play, breaking an 88-point deadlock and putting an end to what would be the final tie of a previously back-and-forth affair.
Then, a minute later, he hit his second of the game on a running jumper to give Toronto a six-point lead. Like clockwork, another triple a minute after that to build it up to nine. Three backbreakers in a row, three eardrum-popping roars from the home barn, and Game 3 felt all but wrapped up.
“Yeah it was special. I mean I heard it a little bit, but I’m just so focused and locked in on the game that I don’t really let it distract me too much. But I mean, just the crowd, even at the start of the game, just hearing how loud they were after every basket, I know that was crazy. That was crazy,” he says, recalling his time at a Leafs game last post-season. “Hearing that and then translating to actually being out there and playing is pretty cool.”
The pièce de resistance came with just under four minutes to go, as the 24-year-old nailed a triple from the wing to cap off a 20-9 run for Toronto and give them a 17-point lead. Dagger.
It wasn’t an out-of-nowhere plug-and-play showing from him however. Battle came off the bench late in the first quarter, entering for RJ Barrett with 3:40 left and the Raptors up four — a change in plan for a Raptors team desperate for a different look. In previous games, those minutes may have gone to A.J. Lawson, or an extended run for Sandro Mamukelashvili. On Thursday they went to Battle.
He didn’t give them much right away, particularly on the offensive end. He provided some size in the matchup against the physical James Harden while Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles were sitting or busy with other assignments. He gave the team space in the half court, forcing one of the many Cavaliers wings to play closer to the three-point line. He did what he was asked to do.
But when the fourth came along, he did what he was born to do. Fire away.
“It’s just being an everyday guy,” Battle said of what it takes to be ready to step into moments like these. “Making sure you have a routine when you’re doing the same things over and over again, because ultimately, that’s what’s gonna lead to success.”
That routine hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates and coaching staff. And this explosion, well, they had seen it before. Not on Oct. 31 of this season, but every day in practice.
Barnes mentioned that Battle is consistently No. 1 on the shooting leaderboard at the practice facility, taking the most shots day after day.
“Since he’s been here, he’s been a player that has been ready whenever his name has been called,” Barrett said of his teammate. “We’re very happy that he was able to do that, but we know the type of player that he’s been, you know, many times before.”
The Toronto Raptors won the Battle. Now they have to win the war.