The Toronto Raptors are feeling a sense of deja vu as they trail the Cleveland Cavaliers 2-0 in their second-round playoff series. 

After finishing the season as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference and securing home-court advantage, this was supposed to be the year when the Raptors finally overcame their arch nemesis LeBron James. 

But after back-to-back losses at home, Toronto is once again staring elimination in the face against LBJ the Cavs. 

Following a narrow 113-112 overtime loss in game one, the Raps suffered a heavy 128-110 defeat in game two and are now heading to Cleveland with a mountain to climb. 

The Cavaliers blew the game wide open in the third quarter when they outscored the home team 37-24. 

The Raptors had no answer after this and struggled to mount any sort of comeback when the visitors went on their surge. 

Speaking after the game, Kyle Lowry called out his teammates for their lack of effort.

"Just needed more effort," Lowry said when asked about the Cavs' huge third quarter that put Cleveland up for good, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "Way more effort. We have to play harder. ... Somehow, someway."

Lowry finished with 21 points on an efficient 7-of-10 shooting but most of his points came during a hot first half. 

Like many of his teammates, he was cold for the second half and couldn't generate any offence. 

History certainly doesn't favour the men from Canada. According to ESPN, 26 teams have fallen behind 0-2 to start a series on their home court and 22 of those teams went on to lose the series. 

The Cavs have now won eight straight playoff games against their opponents from north of the border dating back to 2016. 

LeBron is 21-0 in his career when leading 2-0 in a playoff series and Toronto is 0-6 in franchise history when trailing 0-2. 

Despite the uphill task they face, DeMar DeRozan is still confident they can win four games and progress. 

"We down two, OK," he said. "It's the first one to win four. It's not over. Take it one game at a time and go from there.

"We thrive off adversity. Every single guy on this team, we thrive off it. We've been in tough situations before and sometimes that's what brings the best out of you. That's where we're at now and it's the first team to win four. We understand where we're at and we're going to fight."

Game three will be pivotal for DeRozan and co. if they're to produce an improbable comeback. They'll have to do something they've failed to do in the last two years and win at Quicken Loans Arena. 

Saturday night's encounter in Ohio has now become the biggest game of their season. 

Listen HERE to episode two of the new GiveMeSport NBA podcast, featuring New York Times senior writer Marc Stein.

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