Before tipoff with Toronto Nov. 24 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson cautioned the Raptors have improved since the Cavs crushed them, 136-106, in the season opener a little more than a month ago. “They’re a much better team than we faced in game one,” Atkinson said. “They’re healthier. R.J. (Barrett) is playing great. Offensive rebounding is always a concern with them. They’re playing a perfect profile for a young team.” The Raptors won two straight games before facing the Cavs, but even with that they carried a 4-12 record into the FieldHouse. Maybe Atkinson was trying to send a wake-up call to his 16-1 team that was fresh off a three-day break. As it turned out, the Cavs needed that alert before separating themselves from their visitors in the fourth quarter to win, 122-108. The Cavs turned the ball over five times in the second quarter and 13 times overall. The Raptors pulled down 19 offensive rebounds. “It was a choppy game,” Atkinson said after the game. “Again, they’re a hard team to play against. It wasn’t one of our better games, quite honestly.” Jarrett Allen dominated under the rim like a mean German Shepherd guarding a junkyard at night. The Cavaliers’ 6-foot-11 center, who is as opposite of mean as anyone could be, finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds. He also blocked a shot. “He’s an immensely talented player,” Atkinson said. “He plays both ends. I thought he dominated defensively — rebounding, protecting the rim. The guy is an Al–Star.” Ty Jerome, who scored 29 points against the Pelicans on Nov. 20, stayed hot with 17 first-half points against the Raptors and 26 points overall. Darius Garland returned to action after missing the game with the Pelicans because of a groin injury. He scored 16 points in 31 minutes. Isaac Okoro returned after missing the last two games with an ankle injury and finished with 10 points. It was not an artistic victory, but not every one of the first 16 were, either. The Raptors sliced the an 80-65 Cavaliers lead to 92-89 with 58 seconds left in the third quarter before a floating jumper by Jerome 9 feet from the rim with 41 seconds left in the quarter put the Cavs back in control for good. Cavs forward Georges Niang kept shooting and missing, shooting and missing. He was 1 of 12 after three quarters and threw up another brick on an attempted 3-pointer from deep in the corner to the right of the basket on the first shot of the fourth quarter. The play of Allen, Jerome, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley more than made up for Niang’s icy touch. Mitchell scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavs steadily separated themselves from the Raptors in the final 12 minutes. Mobley scored 14 points and took down 11 rebounds in 33 minutes. THE SCORE Cavaliers 122, Raptors 108