Kenny Atkinson thankful for home court advantage for Game 7 vs. Raptors

On Friday, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost Game 6 of the first round 112-110 in OT to the Toronto Raptors. Despite that, they will possess home-court advantage for Game 7 on Sunday at Rocket Arena.

After the game, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson saw the good in the loss, per the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“I thought we did a lot of good things, he said. “We rebounded like we asked them to rebound, we got some really good looks, sometimes it’s make or miss. I like a lot of things we did….we gotta recover & get ready for Sunday’s game.”

Even after RJ Barrett hit the game-winner, the Cavs still had a chance to win. They could have gotten the ball to Donovan Mitchell, but the Raptors diligently covered the passing lanes. Therefore, James Harden inbounded to Evan Mobley, who missed the game-winning attempt.

Atkinson explained the strategy.

“We were looking for Donovan [Mitchell] to come off the curl screen,” he said. “We’ve run it before & was really a 2 or a 3 option….not a great look, decent look from Evan [Mobley].”

When describing the game winner by Barrett, Atkinson took it for what it was.

“I don’t know. Sometimes the basketball Gods aren’t with ya….it was like okay, let’s go get game 7,” he said. “It switches real quick.”

He also spoke about his decision to use a coach’s challenge in the first half over an offensive foul called on Jalen Tyson.

“Our philosophy is points are equal….points matter everywhere in the game,” Atkinson said. “What I don’t like is holding a challenge & never using it.”

Atkinson reflected on the outcome of the game while also celebrating home-court advantage in Game 7.

“They came out with a lot of force…hit us pretty hard but then we showed great resiliency coming back,” he said. “This is typical NBA playoff basketball. Two 4 & 5 seeds going at it. We got the home court advantage. That’s why you work for it all year. Gotta go and get game 7.”

Kenny Atkinson Postgame After Game 6 Loss vs Raptors:

“[0:00, Failing To Close The Series] I thought we did a lot of good things. We rebounded like we asked them to rebound, we got some really good looks, sometimes it’s make or miss. I like a lot of things we did….we gotta… pic.twitter.com/ZE3oqi0uGd

— Dylan (@dillybar2145__) May 2, 2026

Tip-off for Game 7 is at 7:30 EST.

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