Big fourth quarter from Dennis Schroder gives Cavs 125-120 Game 5 win

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers fought back from a double-digit second-half deficit to regain control of the series. Eleven fourth-quarter points from Dennis Schroder and multiple clutch shots from Evan Mobley carried the Cavs to a 125-120 victory to take a 3-2 series lead over the Toronto Raptors.

Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson decided to make a change with his starting lineup: Dean Wade was out, Max Strus was in. The idea behind this move was to primarily juice an offense that couldn’t get anything going in either Game 3 or 4.

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This move didn’t produce instant results. The Cavs were outscored by nine points in the first five minutes with the starting lineup on the floor. They weren’t physical defensively, and the insertion didn’t provide the offensive boost Atkinson was likely hoping for.

Momentum changed after the initial subs came in. Dean Wade and Sam Merrill provided an immediate spark, but the real story was James Harden playing some of his best basketball since coming to Cleveland.

Harden carried the Cavs through the opening quarter. He poured in 14 points in that frame to help the Cavs secure a narrow 38-34 lead after one.

Cleveland gave that advantage away at the beginning of the second quarter.

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Atkinson decided to give Thomas Bryant his first minutes of the series at the start of the second quarter, and it didn’t go well. The Raptors picked on him defensively and neutralized any advantage he would’ve created inside because they could cheat off Mobley.

This allowed the Raptors’ offense to get going. Toronto rattled off 40 points in the second quarter, led by 11 points from Ja’Kobe Walter, and the team went 5-8 (62.5%) from beyond the arc.

Turnovers were once again a problem for the Cavs in the second quarter. After a lights-out first quarter, Harden turned it over four times himself. As a team, Cleveland gave it up six times in the quarter, leading to 14 Toronto points off turnovers.

This all resulted in the Cavs…