TORONTO — When the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled over the Toronto Raptors in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals, it looked like they’d simply walk through Toronto and leave with another shot at an NBA championship. But on Saturday night, they ran into Bismack Biyombo, who sent the Cavaliers a very clear message with a wag of the finger.
Biyombo’s furious block on Kyrie Irving late in the second quarter—followed by a brash finger wave, in tribute to his idol, Dikembe Mutombo—pushed back against a Cavaliers team that had seemed too fast, too strong, too talented for the Raptors to handle.
On the strength of steady defence and an offensive outburst from DeMar DeRozan, Toronto built a 13-point lead by halftime, a half that was capped by a skirmish at centre-court that sent LeBron James tumbling to the hardwood after being accidentally struck in the face by his teammate Tristan Thompson. Biyombo was in the middle of that comedy of errors too, after taking issue with Thompson’s rough play under the basket and having to be separated by Cory Joseph, who shoved Thompson away.
Biyombo set that tone—that aggressive, take nothing and fight for everything attitude—which helped the rest of the Raptors finally find the swagger that led them further than any team in franchise history has ventured before. If the Raptors forgot who they were in Games 1 and 2, Biyombo reminded them.
"No matter what he does, when Biz is out there you can feel the energy that he’s giving off," said Patrick Patterson, who had 10 points for the Raptors.
Toronto beat Cleveland on the strength of relentless defence. Cleveland shot just 35 per cent from the field, after hitting more than half of their attempts in the first two games of the series. Joseph played smothering defence, which helped force Irving into a dismal 3-for-19 performance from the floor. On the other end, DeRozan led the Raptors offence with 32 points, while Kyle Lowry added 20.
But it all started and ended with Biyombo, who ripped down 26 rebounds and added four blocks. And when the Raptors went dangerously cold in the fourth quarter, going on a scoreless run of nearly six minutes, it was Biyombo who got things moving again, with three straight baskets to help put the game beyond Cleveland’s reach.
"He’s just kind of the spirit of our team," Dwane Casey said afterwards, praising the big man, whose effort was desperately needed with the absence of injured centre Jonas Valanciunas.
"He’s been rebounding that way all year," Casey said, comparing his centre’s active play to Dennis Rodman.
Biyombo took the podium last after the game, following stars like DeRozan, Lowry—and even LeBron, on whom the Toronto centre was charged with a flagrant foul late in the game. Each were asked about Biyombo, the man who changed Toronto’s fortunes, at least for one game.
Sitting at the microphone, dressed in a slim black suit and sharp white dress shirt, Biyombo smiled when asked about his propensity to wag his finger after a block. He laughed and explained that he’d sought and been granted the license to use it by Mutombo. When told about the high praise his coach had for him, humbly dismissing the comparison to Rodman, he shrugged it off.
"That’s great, and I appreciate it," he said. "But at the end of the day, I’m Bismack Biyombo."
And if the Raptors have any chance against the Cavaliers in this series, it will be on the strength of that name continuing to mean something special all on its own.