GUND ARENA Toronto crushes Cavaliers' hopes with late victory

Cleveland is three games behind Boston for the eighth playoff spot.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- There's open. There's wide open. And then there's what Jalen Rose was in the closing seconds -- the loneliest man in Gund Arena.
"To be honest, I prefer to have someone guarding me," Rose said. "It was an open shot, and I knocked it down."
Rose made a 3-pointer in the final second, and the Toronto Raptors ended a seven-game losing streak -- and perhaps Cleveland's postseason chances -- with an 87-86 victory over the Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
"Jalen got an open look, and it just hurts, because we worked so hard the whole game," said Cavs guard Jeff McInnis, who along with a bruised right shoulder is now nursing a sprained left ankle and some damaged playoff hopes.
Textbook execution
Rose's 3-pointer with six-tenths of a second left capped a gorgeous final possession that kept Toronto's playoff pulse beating for at least another game.
A loss would have eliminated the Raptors from the playoffs. Instead, the nationally televised win gave them new life.
"Let's be honest," said Raptors coach Kevin O'Neill, who never seems to know what he'll get from his team. "They came because it was national TV. Our guys responded well and we played hard. This was a good win."
The Cavs' fifth straight loss dropped them three games behind idle Boston for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Toronto is four back of the Celtics.
Vince Carter scored 32 points, Rose added 15 and Donyell Marshall had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Toronto, which won despite scoring just eight points in the third quarter.
LeBron James scored 21 points, Carlos Boozer had 18 and McInnis added 16 points and 10 assists.
Shot in arm
McInnis sparked the Cavaliers, who had gone 1-9 since the point guard bruised his shoulder in a March 16 win over Chicago. The Cavaliers, back to looking like a playoff-caliber team, led 86-84 after James made two free throws with 11.6 seconds left.
Toronto called time and Cleveland figured the ball would go to Carter, which it did. The Raptors' All-Star guard was then able to drive the lane, forcing the Cavs' defense to collapse on him.
Carter then kicked the ball outside and the Raptors alertly reversed it around the key to Rose, who gathered himself and buried his 3-pointer.
"Everybody wants to take the shot that wins an NBA game," Rose said. "Everybody counts down five, four, three, two, one -- whether you're playing your big brother or the guy down the street.
"Everybody wants to be in that position. Tonight I was, and I hit the shot."
Ira Newble's inbounds pass intended for James just before the horn was tipped away as the Cavs lost a game they desperately needed to win.