The Cleveland Cavaliers were better than the Toronto Raptors in the regular season, but that doesn't matter now. Each squad has won two games in their first-round playoff matchup, setting up a best-of-three the rest of the way.

Raptors forward Scottie Barnes was asked what he's learned about the team's resiliency during the series on Tuesday, via TSN's Josh Lewenberg.

"I don't think I've learned anything that I didn't already know," the 24-year-old said.

Although Toronto's 46-36 regular-season record was its best since 2021-22, the group has had challenges. For example, it finished just 22-30 against teams .500 or above, which was the worst among all the top-six Eastern Conference squads.

Furthermore, it's been without guard Immanuel Quickley (hamstring) for the entire first round, and he won't return during the series, per NBA.com. The 26-year-old averaged 16.4 points on 44.3% shooting (37.4% 3-point) with four rebounds and 5.9 assists in the regular season.

On top of that, the Raptors were down 2-0 in the series before winning both home games. Despite being shorthanded and previously struggling against winning teams, they have a chance to reach the second round for the first time since 2020.

Toronto's offense has been inconsistent against Cleveland, but not because of Barnes. The two-time All-Star leads the squad with 25.8 points per game on 52.3% shooting (46.7% 3-point) and 7.2 assists in the postseason.

Meanwhile, the team as a whole is shooting 47.3% (35.8% 3-point) and set the record for the lowest field goal percentage in a playoff win (32%) during the 3-point era in Sunday's 93-89 victory. Barnes and fellow forward Brandon Ingram each scored a team-high 23 points, but Barnes did it on 15 shots against Ingram's 23.

Barnes' effectiveness is one of the biggest reasons why the Raptors have a chance to eliminate a Cavaliers team that finished six games ahead of them in the regular season. If the Florida native can lead his team to a series win over a Cleveland squad featuring an All-NBA backcourt in Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, he'll cement himself as one of the biggest stars in the East.

Up next for Toronto is Game 5 on Wednesday, which will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The contest will be at the Cavaliers' Rocket Arena, while Friday's Game 6 will be at the Raptors' Scotiabank Arena. The latter game will be on Amazon Prime Video.