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TSN Raptors Reporter

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CLEVELAND - Following Friday night's rout over the Bucks, one that featured the debut of rookie Bruno Caboclo, DeMar DeRozan was asked if he can recall his first NBA game.

"Yeah, I remember [it]," said the Raptors' sixth-year guard. "It was actually against the Cavaliers. It definitely was a memory I'll never forget, how nervous I was."

It was October 28, 2009, Toronto's home opener. DeRozan started that night, scoring eight points in 23 minutes. The Raptors won the game by 10, overcoming a triple-double from LeBron James.

They had not defeated the King since... until Saturday.

"It's definitely surprising," DeRozan said, informed of James' 16 straight wins over the Raptors, moments after that streak came to an end in Toronto's 110-93 comeback victory over Cleveland. "We ain't gotta worry about that now."

Despite another rough outing offensively - he shot 1-for-8 in the first half before getting hot in the second - DeRozan was instrumental in his team finally getting over the hump against a James-led team. Without the injured James Johnson, acquired to defend players like James, Terrence Ross started the game on the four-time MVP before picking up two quick fouls. DeRozan, the team's leading scorer, asked to take over the assignment.

"I wanted to guard him," said DeRozan, who scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half. "I'm going to have games where I'm not making shots but I think my maturity of just being in the league long enough and being in a lot of different situations keeps me calm in a situation like that. It's bigger than me scoring. There's so many other things I can do."

James had a quiet double-double of 15 points and 10 assists, taking just 12 shots. Whenever the NBA's best player is doing anything quietly, you've done the best you can do.

"We had no choice, who else do you recommend?," said Dwane Casey, pressed about the decision to put DeRozan, a player not known for his defence, on James. "He has the size to do it. We don't have [Johnson], our next option was going to be Amir [Johnson] or [Patrick Patterson], but DeMar did such a solid job that we didn't have to do that."

But the night belonged to Lou Williams, the Raptors' super-sub who had a career game while giving his team the spark they needed towards the end of a lethargic first quarter.

The Raptors were down by 15 points when Williams checked in midway through the first frame.

"I'm concerned they're going to come out like wet hens," Casey said of the wounded Cavaliers before the game. "You know what a wet hen is? You know what a wet hen does when he gets wet? He gets mad."

Cleveland had come out flat in a disappointing loss to Washington the night before and for at least eight minutes they looked like a team playing with a purpose. They were wet hens. Williams came in and dried them off.

Responsible for 12 of the team's 21 first-quarter points, playing less than half the period, Williams couldn't be stopped. From the moment he entered, Toronto finished the first half on a 51-34 run. They outscored Cleveland 105-73 the rest of the night.

"I just wanted to come in and play my style of basketball," said Williams after scoring a career-best 36 points in just 29 minutes of action. "Play with a lot of energy and create a spark. I think Cleveland did a great job of getting off to that nice start and we just needed a little spark and I was there to create that."

What did he see that got him going?

"Will Cherry," yelled an anonymous Raptor from across the locker room.

Cherry spent training camp with the Raptors before being cut and finding his way to Cleveland. One of the reasons a third point guard was deemed unnecessary was Williams' strong camp. Casey and the team's front office were more than confident with his ability to handle the ball and play the point in a pinch.

They knew he could score. They knew he had a flare for the dramatic. With the clock winding down in the opening half, Williams hit a step-back three-ball to beat the buzzer and give Toronto its first lead of the night. It was his third buzzer beater over the last two nights. Amazingly, he's taken the Raptors' final shot in seven of the last eight quarters.

Lost in his offensive brilliance, the Raptors have been pleasantly surprised with his commitment on defence.

"I'm surprised that 36 is his career-high," Casey said. "Because he's a long-time scorer, that's what he's done his whole career, he understands how to attack people's feet and get into their body and initiate contact. He does a great job of that."

"Most of all, I'm impressed with Lou's defence, too. He had a reputation of being a scorer but now he's doing a much better job defensively for us which allows him to stay in and guard guys like [Dion] Waiters and [Kyrie] Irving and people like that."

Williams was acquired from Atlanta over the summer. He came to the Raptors with Lucas Nogueira for the right to waive John Salmons. He's said he never felt like himself with the Hawks, recovering from serious knee surgery.

He also played in front of one of the worst home crowds in the NBA with Atlanta, so seeing an impressively large contingent of Raptors fans make their way to Cleveland left him near speechless.

Showing up early, 10 rows of Raptors fans, sitting behind one of the baskets, dominated an entire section at Quicken Loans Arena. Wearing purple and red, they sang the Canadian anthem, waved flags and banners while drowning out the Cavs faithful with chants throughout the night.

"It's dope man," Williams said. "This is been an incredible experience as far as the fans go. I've been on some teams that have been on the wrong end of that, so I've seen it but never for my benefit."

"It felt like a playoff game, honestly, with our fans being in there, cheering and singing the national anthem," DeRozan added. "It was just an amazing thing, especially for me. It's really something for me because I've been here through the tough times and to see everything now, going on the road, seeing fans, seeing Raptor jerseys in the crowd, it definitely means something."