Garland scores 40 and 9, Mitchell rests, Barnes scores 24 and 10, Cavaliers rally to beat Raptors and win their 12th consecutive game

With the NBA regular season in full swing, the league-leading Cavaliers hosted the Raptors on the second night of a back-to-back. Following a 110-102 victory on the road in Oklahoma City against the Thunder, Cleveland was 32-4 and held the best record in the league. Toronto, on the other hand, entered the game losers of three-straight and sitting just 8-29, in 13th place in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors were without All-Star Scottie Barnes, but still had a solid mix of players and had given the Cavaliers trouble in their last meeting on Dec. 6 (they beat the Cavs 108-105 on a last-second hook shot).

The Raptors jumped out to an early lead, led by 12 with just over five minutes left in the first quarter. Despite the early deficit, the Cavs didn't lose heart, and after the first frame was over Cleveland trailed by six points, 38-32, as the home team was outscored 38-26 in the opening period.

Despite the slow start, Kevin Love was the team's scoring leader with 12 early points. In the second quarter, however, Cleveland got more balanced production from a variety of players. They outscored the Raptors by 11 in the period (33-22), with both teams firing from deep (seven combined for the half after the break), but also getting to the free-throw line well, connecting on 14-of-18.

At the half, the Cavaliers led 61-53. After the break, Cleveland took its largest lead at 13 with under five minutes left in the third. Then the wheels fell off. Cleveland's defense broke down, and the Cavs' shot selection got worse in the second half. While Cleveland was 60.6 percent from the field in the first half, they made just 36 percent of their field goal attempts in the second half. They ended the game making just 46 percent.

After leading by as many as 13, Cleveland was outscored 43-23 in the period, allowing Toronto to carry the 12-point deficit into the fourth quarter (four-point halftime deficit + six-point third quarter swing).

Down two, the Cavaliers were forced to play catch-up. Cleveland did have a lead when Oscar Tshiebwe drove to the basket on a two-on-one fastbreak. After the basket, Cleveland took a 120-118 lead with 2:31 left in the game. The Cavaliers also took a one-point lead with 43 seconds left in the game, following a dunk by Lauri Markkanen.

The Cavaliers held the lead to the end, winning 132-126. Darius Garland, once again, was the leader of the offense as he finished with a game-high 40 points on 12-of-21 shooting. He also contributed nine assists. Markkanen finished with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, and Tshiebwe finished with 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting off the bench.

Despite the slow start and rough second half, the Cavaliers extended their winning streak to 12 games. Cleveland will next play against the Pelicans on Wednesday, Jan. 18 and at the Warriors on Friday, Jan. 20. They won't be able to extend the winning streak to 14, however, as they will be in the NBA All-Star Game and will be off Feb. 17-19 with the NBA's mid-season festivities. Here's the final score:

Cleveland 132, Toronto 126