The Toronto Raptors wanted respect, wanted their due, wanted credit for what they had done and all they had accomplished.
They were privately miffed that so many saw the NBA’s Eastern Conference final as a coronation for King LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers and it gnawed at them.
They got all they wanted, and more, on Monday night.
With Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan combining for 67 points and enough late-game defence to stifle a big Cleveland comeback, Toronto reduced the series to a best-of-three affair with a 105-99 victory at the Air Canada Centre.