Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson called Thursday a trap game. Cleveland avoided getting caught. Barely. Just 24 hours after an emotional and draining win, the Cavs held off the pesky Toronto Raptors, 132-126,

The NBA regular-season schedule is rather unforgiving. The Cleveland Cavaliers needed to take on the Toronto Raptors on the second night of a back-to-back after claiming a rousing 129-122 win over the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder the night before.

In their win over the Thunder, the Cavs finally put to rest any remaining doubt, criticism, or concern about their status as a contender.

The Cavs and Oklahoma City Thunder delivered a game that lived up to its billing as the most anticipated matchup of the regular season. Featuring the No. 1 offense against the No. 1 defense and the top teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences,

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been overlooked, ignored and doubted by many this season. That’s why defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in a nationally televised game was so crucial. It was a meeting between the two teams with the best records in the league.