CLEVELAND -- Well, Kevin Love sat out the fourth quarter again.

This time, though, the circumstances were slightly different, as was the look on his face. After two miserable games in Toronto that saw him become a spectator at the end, Love exploded for 25 points in just 24 minutes on Wednesday to quickly redeem himself.

With stress mounting in the series, the Cleveland Cavaliers released a historic 116-78 Game 5 roasting of the Toronto Raptors, re-establishing the dominance they showed at the start of the Eastern Conference finals. The Cavaliers are now a victory away from reaching what many assumed to be their destiny for months: a return to the NBA Finals. This would be the sixth consecutive Finals for LeBron James -- the first four, of course, with the Miami Heat.

The Cavs had been great at home during the postseason, and the energy and emotion -- which had been missing during Games 3 and 4 in Toronto -- returned in Game 5. Cleveland led by 18 points in the first quarter and was up 31 at halftime, the largest intermission deficit the Raptors have faced in their franchise history.

Schematically, the Cavaliers made a couple of adjustments aimed to slow down Raps guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. The Cavs attacked them off screens, usually trapping to force them to give up the ball or go away from the basket. This stripped the Raptors' backcourt duo of the space they got comfortable with in Toronto, and they combined for just 27 points after scoring 67 points in Game 4.

Turning around the defensive performance was paramount for the Cavs, even if much of the attention after their losses in Games 3 and 4 was focused on their offense. There was a tangible difference in the effort level, particularly from perimeter players such as J.R. Smith and Kyrie Irving.

The defensive stops enabled the Cavs to quickly build momentum; they forced 11 turnovers in the first half alone. The offensive flow that had abandoned Cleveland, resulting in their worst back-to-back scoring games in two months, returned at Quicken Loans Arena.

James had another well-rounded game, scoring 23 points to go with eight assists and six rebounds. He also was aggressive in setting up on the interior, helping the Cavs get their offense from inside rather than relying on a massive volume of 3-pointers as they had in Toronto.

Irving finished with 23 points and three steals. He had another strong shooting game and won the individual matchup with Lowry, which has often been the crucial matchup in the series.