The Wine & Gold tipoff the second half of their six-game roadie on Wednesday night when they travel to Rip City to battle the Portland Trail Blazers. Tipoff from the Moda Center is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. (ET).
The Cavs head into Portland on a high note, snapping their 12-game skein with a 101-95 win over the Los Angeles Lakers this past Sunday evening in Tinseltown.
Cavs Visit Blazers
From where to catch all the action to Wednesday's game notes, Cavs.com has you covered.
FOX Sports Ohio
WTAM 100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 FM La Mega
Joe G.'s guide to a victory.
Learn more about Wednesday's matchup.
In the win, Cleveland's defense was rock solid after holding Los Angeles to just 36-91 (.396) shooting from the field, including 7-34 (.206) from beyond-the-arc. The Cavaliers are now 4-0 this season when holding opponents to under .400 shooting.
The Cavs were just as good on the offensive front, tallying all five starters score in double figures against the Lake Show (Cedi Osman–20, Rodney Hood–18, Alec Burks–17, Collin Sexton–17, Tristan Thompson–15). The starters also totaled 87 points on Sunday, which was good for their second highest scoring effort of the season (93 on 11/23 at PHI).
Cleveland was dominant in the trenches in L.A. grabbing 52 rebounds, 10 of which came off the offensive glass. On the season, the Cavs have pulled down 50-plus boards in 10 contests and double-digit offensive rebounds in 26 games.
Osman, who recorded a team-high 20 points, eight rebounds and two steals in 42 minutes on Sunday night, has scored in double-digits in 13 of his last 15 games. Over that 15-game stretch, Osman is averaging 13.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 32.4 minutes per game.
Burks posted his first double-double of the season (third of career) with 17 points, a season-high 13 rebounds, four assists, one steal and a 7-8 (.875) clip from the foul line in 33 minutes against the Lakers. It was his first double-double since November 18, 2014.
Thompson registered his 18th double-double of the season with 15 points on 7-14 (.500) shooting, a game-high 14 rebounds and two blocks in 37 minutes at Los Angeles. With those two blocks, T-Top tied Anderson Varejao and Brad Daugherty (both w/397 blk) for seventh place in franchise history.
As the Cavaliers look to keep the ball rolling on Friday night, their upcoming opponent - the Portland Trail Blazers - enter the matchup on a two-game skid following a four-game winning streak earlier this month. The Blazers now own a 26-19 record, which is good for fourth place in the Western Conference.
In their most recent matchup, the Blazers fell to the Sacramento Kings, 115-107, on Monday evening in NorCal. Damian Lillard was en fuego throughout the contest, dropping 35 points and canning four triples. Evan Turner was the team's second leading scorer with 14 points off the bench while Al-Farouq Aminu posted a double-double consisting of 13 points and 11 boards.
Wednesday night's affair between the Cavs and Trail Blazers will be the first of two meetings this season with their next contest coming next month on February 25. That game will tip off in The Land at 7:00 p.m. (ET).
Where to Catch the Action
TV: FOX Sports Ohio
Tune in for Cavaliers LIVE on FSO for pre-and-postgame coverage starting 30 minutes prior to tipoff and immediately following the conclusion of the game.
Radio: WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 La Mega
For live in-game updates, follow @cavs, @CavsJoeG, @CavsFredMcLeod, @MrCavalier34, @CavsJMike and @chones22 on Twitter.
Probable Starters/Status Update*
#2 - Collin Sexton
#10 - Alec Burks
#1 - Rodney Hood
#16 - Cedi Osman
#13 - Tristan Thompson
G
G
F
F
C
#0 - Damian Lillard
#3 - CJ McCollum
#10 - Jake Layman
#8 - Al-Farouq Aminu
#27 - Jusuf Nurkic
Status Update: (Cavs) - Kevin Love (Left Foot Surgery, Out),
John Henson (Left Wrist Surgery, Out),
David Nwaba (Left Ankle Sprain, Out),
Larry Nance Jr. (Right Knee Sprain, Out),
JR Smith (NWT)
Status Update: (Blazers) - TBD
*Subject to change.
Head-to-Head Matchup
As mentioned, this is the first of two meetings between the Cavaliers and Trail Blazers this season. Last season, Cleveland split their series with Portland.
In those two games, the Cavaliers averaged 116.0 points on a combined .515 shooting from the field. Cleveland also connected on 12.0 three-point baskets per game and outscored Portland by 12.5 fast break points per contest (18.0-5.5).
When tipoff rolls around on Wednesday night, the Cavs will look to their bench for an extra boost. On the season, the Cavs reserves are averaging 43.6 ppg compared to the Trail Blazers who are averaging just 34.7 ppg. Cleveland has also held their opponents reserves to just 36.2 ppg while Portland's bench has given up 36.3 ppg on the season.
On Deck
Following Wednesday's game in Rip City, the Cavaliers round out their road trip with a back-to-back series later in the week when they face the Utah Jazz on Friday night before battling the Denver Nuggets on Saturday in the Mile High City. The Wine & Gold will return to Cleveland on Monday, January 21 when they take on the Chicago Bulls. That game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (ET).