Cavaliers 102, Raptors 100: Dion Waiters had a game-high 24 points as host Cleveland held on to beat Toronto and keep its playoff hopes alive.

Luol Deng added 19 points for the Cavaliers, who closed to within 4 1/2 games of idle Atlanta for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Tristan Thompson had 15 points and 13 rebounds while Jarrett Jack added 13 points against his former team.

Kyle Lowry's 22 points and 10 assists paced the Raptors, who had a chance to tie after forcing a Cleveland turnover on an inbounds play with 7.8 seconds remaining but couldn't get a shot off before Deng forced a Greivis Vasquez turnover to end it. Vasquez and Terrence Ross chipped in 16 points apiece as Toronto saw its lead over Brooklyn slip to 1 1/2 games atop the Atlantic Division.

After sleepwalking through the first half and trailing by as many as 21 points early in the third, the Raptors racked up 36 points in the third quarter - fueled by four 3-pointers in the final 6:28 - to close within 88-81. Toronto finally surged ahead on a Vasquez 3-pointer with 6:45 remaining, but that was the Raptors' final field goal for more than six minutes as Jack responded with an 18-footer and Deng added a running jumper to put Cleveland back in front for good.

The normally stout Toronto defense fell to pieces in the opening half, allowing the Cavaliers to shoot 57.9 percent from the floor en route to a 59-45 advantage. Waiters led the charge with 13 points and five assists while Cleveland limited Toronto to 36.4 percent from the field.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Lowry headed to the locker room with just under three minutes remaining in the opening half but returned for the start of the third quarter. ... Cleveland finished with a 49-38 rebounding edge. ... Waiters has averaged 23.8 points in five games since Cavaliers PG Kyrie Irving went down with a biceps injury.