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Wrap-Up -- That might’ve been the toughest 13-point win the Blazers have had all season.
It looked like Portland would coast to its fourth straight win after building up a 23-point first half lead, but Cleveland clawed its way back, eventually slicing the deficit to just a deuce early in the fourth quarter. But the Cavs couldn’t quite close the deal from there – falling, 123-110, on Monday night at The Q.
The Blazers were good in the first quarter, but absolutely caught fire in the second – going 15-for-19 from the floor, canning all eight three-point attempts and finishing with a 42-point period. Through the first two quarters, Portland was 11-of-13 from beyond the arc.
But it was a different ballgame after intermission.
In the third quarter, Portland went cold from downtown – missing all six trifecta attempts – while the Wine & Gold slowly chipped away at the lead, going 12-of-13 from the line while going the entire period without committing a turnover.
The Cavs kept the heat up into the fourth, cutting the Blazers’ advantage to just two – 92-90 – on Larry Nance Jr.’s free throws with 9:08 to play.
But that was as close as Cleveland would get on Monday night.
C.J McCollum’s layup put the Blazers back up by two possessions just over a minute later and the Blazers eventually re-extended their lead to eight. But the Cavaliers would not quit – again cutting Portland’s lead to a single possession – 105-102 – on Cedi Osman’s driving layup with 4:42 to play.
But Cleveland ran out of gas from there as the Blazers answered with a 14-0 run to put the affair on ice.
Osman was outstanding for the Wine & Gold – finishing with 27 points on 10-for-16 shooting, including 3-of-5 from long-distance, to go with seven boards, three assists and a steal.
Clarkson records his 52nd game scoring in double figures this season.
Jordan Clarkson tallied double-figure scoring off the bench for the 52nd time this season – following up with 19 points on 8-of-18 shooting, adding five boards and a pair of assists in 29 minutes of work.
Kevin Love notched his third straight double-double on Monday night – tallying 18 points and a game-high 12 boards, going 5-of-14 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and 4-of-4 from the stripe.
Collin Sexton also registered double-figures for the 52nd time this season, but it took some effort to get there – finishing 3-for-14 from the field for 11 points in a frustrating evening going against one of the top backcourt duos in the Association.
On the night, that combination of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum teamed for 56 points – with the Canton’s McCollum leading both squads with 35 points, going 12-of-18 from the floor, including 7-of-8 from long-range.
As if those two weren’t tough enough, Seth Curry came off the Blazers bench to net 15 points in 15 minutes, going a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range in the victory.
Larry Nance Jr. came off Cleveland’s bench to score double-figures, finishing with 10 points, five boards and five assists on the night.
Turning Point -- If Monday’s matchup was a heavyweight fight, both combatants would’ve been bloodied. But the Blazers had just enough left in the tank for a final flurry, delivering the knockout punch after the Cavaliers scrapped their way back into the ballgame.
After answering the Cavaliers initial rally – extending their lead to eight after the Cavs had sliced it to just a deuce early in the fourth – it looked like the Blazers could finally call off the dogs.
But the Cavs answered back with three straight free throws and a Cedi layup, getting back to within three.
Cleveland would connect on just two more buckets the rest of the way, as the Blazers used a 14-0 run to pull away for good.
By the Numbers – 14.6 … three-pointers the Cavaliers have averaged over their last seven games – drilling double-digit triples in each contest, including a season-high 18 last week against Brooklyn and 13 more on Monday night against Portland.
Quotable – Jordan Clarkson, on how the Cavs were able to get back in the game after half …
”We were just fighting in that third quarter. We got stops, they were missing shots, we were forcing the tough ones. We were getting out in transition, making plays, making plays towards the rim and just scoring, and that’s how we cut back in the deficit.”
Up Next -- With their three-game mini-homestand in the books following Monday night’s loss to the Blazers, the Wine & Gold hit the road for the first time in nearly three weeks – traveling to the Big Apple for a Thursday night matchup with the Knicks. The Wine & Gold tip off the month of March with a weekend back-to-back at The Q – welcoming the Pistons to town on Saturday evening followed by a Sunday night visit from by the Magic. The Cavs then play five of their next six on the road – with stops in Brooklyn, Miami, Philly, Orlando and Dallas on the docket.