Hardwood Highlight of the Night: Quick passing beats Cavs' traps

The Toronto Raptors were in tough against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. 

Winners of five straight contests, the Cavaliers rolled into Toronto and came away with a 14-point victory.

For much of the night, the Raptors struggled to find their shot, owing largely to the Cavaliers' aggressive pick-and-roll defense. Cleveland opted to have their bigs trap ball handlers, thus taking away passing lanes and delaying ball movement. The strategy was made possible by picture-perfect rotations from the Cavaliers' defenders.

The Raptors managed to occasionally counter Cleveland's traps by making quick and smart decisions. Take the play below, for example.

The action starts with Amir Johnson setting a high ball screen for Kyle Lowry. Instinctively, the Cavaliers anticipate this motion by sending Kevin Love up to the perimeter to form the trap.

Figuring the trap is on its way, Johnson short-rolls to the elbow instead of moving all the way to the basket. This allows Lowry to make a quick pocket pass before the double forms. Having committed early on the play, Love is trapped up high while Johnson has a temporary two-on-one with Jonas Valanciunas.

With Johnson open, Anderson Varejao steps up to challenge him. This leaves Valanciunas open down low, with LeBron James trapped behind him. From there, Johnson throws a pass down low. 

Valanciunas then gathers himself, and rises up for the open dunk. The play can be seen below in its entirety.

(Courtesy: NBA, TSN)