Raptors by the numbers: How the series shifted in Toronto

Down 2-0 to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals, there seemed to be little hope left for the Raptors. After two games in Toronto the series is heading back to Cleveland for Game 5 on Wednesday night and is all even at 2-2.

What happened? How did Toronto rebound from two embarrassing losses to beat the Cavaliers in back-to-back games? It's all in the details.

ALL-STARS DOING WORK

The Raptors aren't going to win many games, regardless of their opponent, when Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan are not performing up to their All-Star capablities. DeRozan was adequate in Game 1 and 2, but Lowry certainly wasn't at his best, shooting 29% from the field and going 1-for-15 from three. That all changed in Toronto. Lowry scored 20 points (7-for-13) in Game 3 and 35 (14-for-20) in Game 2 while DeRozan went for 32 (12-for-24 and 14-for-23) on both nights.

So what changed? Not much, except that the shots started falling. Lowry went 8-for-15 on similarly quality shots from three and DeRozan attacked the rim even harder (10.5 drives per game in wins vs. 8.5 per game in losses), scoring on 75% of his drives as opposed to 30%.

ROLE PLAYER UPRISING

The NBA game can often be broken down, simplistically, as such: how did the stars play? If the star matchups between the two teams are something close to a draw, then it can be up to the role players to stand out and Bismack Biyombo and Patrick Patterson gave the Raptors a much needed boost.

Biyombo had a historic Game 3, grabbing 26 rebounds, and followed that up with a strong Game 4. Patterson proved to be the difference-maker on defence in stopping a Cavaliers lineup that was rolling and stepped up with some timely shots.

CHANGE IN STRATEGY

In the first two games of the series, Toronto made it their defensive priority to limit Cleveland's three-point opportunities. That resulted in the Cavaliers scoring 56 and 50 points in the paint on their way to two blowout wins.

Heading into Game 3, the Raptors opted to change their strategy, deciding to protect the paint and challenge the Cavaliers to convert from beyond the arc. It worked. Biyombo had seven blocks across both games and Cleveland shot 27-for-82 (33%) from three in Game 3 and Game 4. Most notably they went 12-for-38 on wide-open shots, where the closest defender is at least six feet away. Will that continue? The odds are against it, but it was the difference in the two Raptors' wins.

NO LOVE WHEN CAVS GO OT

No player was more off his game for the Cavaliers than Kevin Love. Love shot a combined 5-for-23 and was 2-for-11 on those aformentioned wide-open looks. His shooting struggles saw him stapled to the bench in the fourth quarter of Game 4 as his team rallied.

Cleveland can still win Game 5, and the series, with Love in a slump, but that puts more of a focus on James and Kyrie Irving to create their own offence.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr