NBA Toronto Raptors Vs Cleveland Cavaliers Mon, December 26, 2011 [W 104-96]

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CLEVELAND -- Amir Johnson scored 13 points and 13 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors won their season opener 104-96 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night. Toronto, which went only 22-60 last season, won its first game under coach Dwane Casey, who was an assistant last season for the champion Dallas Mavericks. DeMar DeRozan scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth for Toronto, which had seven players score in double figures. Jose Calderon scored 15 with 11 assists, Leandro Barbosa scored 14 and Andrea Bargnani 13. Toronto forward Jamaal Magloire -- the Raptors' first Canadian-born player -- finished with two points and three rebounds. Rookie Kyrie Irving scored six points and hardly played like the No. 1 overall for Cleveland. Irving, who played just 11 games at Duke before turning pro, finished just 2 of 12 from the field -- he made a meaningless three-pointer in the final minutes -- with seven assists and one turnover in 26 minutes. The Cavs are counting on the 19-year-old to turn around a team that won just 19 games last season. Ramon Sessions led the Cavaliers with 18 and Brampton, Ont., rookie Tristan Thompson, taken three picks after Cleveland selected Irving, added 12. Alonzo Gee had 15 points and Anderson Varejao 14 and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, which trimmed a 13-point deficit in the second half to 82-80 on Daniel Gibson's layup with nine minutes left, igniting a crowd at Quicken Loans Arena which came hoping to see the Irving era start ...

View Count: 641 Date: December 27, 2011