In a game reminiscent of the earlier meeting between these two teams, the Portland Trail Blazers fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers 88-80 at the Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs sweep the season series with the win. The Blazers have yet to beat the Cavaliers in Cleveland since LeBron James was drafted in 2003.

The Blazers outscored the Cavaliers 25-14 in the first quarter, though that lead was shrunk to 43-39 by the end of the first half. Portland didn’t relinquish the lead until late in the third quarter, after which they never lead again.

LaMarcus Aldridge carried the Blazers early with 17 points in the first half. He eventually finished with a game-high 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Brandon Roy tallied 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Martell Webster, despite having an off shooting night, added 10 rebounds as well.

Portland managed to slow LeBron James down a bit on the offensive end, though he did complete the triple-double with a 24 point, 10 rebound and 11 assist performance.

After trailing the entire game, Anderson Varejao's 3-point play with 9.2 seconds left in the third quarter gave Cleveland a 62-61 lead. Brandon Roy's free throw tied the game going into the fourth quarter.

James hit a key 3-pointer and made six free throws down the stretch. His bounce pass in the lane led to a Varejao dunk, giving Cleveland a six-point lead with 1:16 to play. On Cleveland's next possession, James found an open Szczerbiak, who hit a 15-footer for an 85-77 lead with 42.4 seconds left.

The Cavaliers forced Portland into a shot-clock violation and two turnovers in the final 2 minutes.

Portland led the entire first half. Portland's biggest lead came at 27-14 early in the second quarter. Aldridge scored 17 points in the half on 8-for-12 shooting.

Wallace was scoreless with five rebounds in 15 minutes in the first half. The Blazers hope to improve their fortunes tomorrow against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second night of a road back-to-back. The game can be seen on Comcast SportsNet Channel 37 starting at 5 p.m. You can also listen to Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey call the game on the Blazers Radio Network.