3-15-18 at Blazers

clejgabriele

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Wrap-Up -- Size matters in the NBA, and right now the injury-plagued Cavaliers are re-learning that painful lesson.

After a brief reprieve in Phoenix, the Wine &amp; Gold ran into the hottest squad in the league, and the streaking Blazers – who’ve dominated Cleveland in the Pacific Northwest – ran their win streak to 11, taking the 113-105 decision on Thursday night at the Moda Center.

With Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson still on the mend – and Larry Nance Jr. sitting out with a sore right hamstring – Cleveland was dominated in the post: with Portland outrebounding the Cavaliers, 50-34, including a 13-2 advantage on the offensive boards, outscoring them, 20-4, on second-chance opportunities.

The loss, which dropped the Wine &amp; Gold to 2-3 on their current road trip, was their fifth straight in Portland, third in their last four outings overall.

The defeat also marked another outstanding performance by LeBron James – who finished with 35 points, going 15-for-25 from the floor to go with 14 boards, six assists, three blocks and a pair of steals.

James notched 22 of his 35 points in the first half as the shorthanded Cavaliers – who’ve dropped each of their last four in PDX by double-digits – stayed within striking distance the entire way before the Blazers closed the affair on an 8-3 run to put the game on ice.

LeBron got the game off to a rousing start – crushing a right-handed dunk in Jusuf Nurkic’s face less than halfway into the first quarter, erupting the Cavaliers bench and drawing gasps from the sold-out arena.

In his second straight start, Kyle Korver followed up with 19 points – going 7-for-13 from the floor, including 3-of-8 from long-range.

Jeff Green, who got the start at center, notched 16 points on 5-for-12 shooting, adding five boards and four assists.

The only other Cavalier to tally double-figures was Jordan Clarkson, who came off the bench to finish with 14 points – going 6-of-12 from the field to go with three boards and three assists.

As usual, the Blazers got big production from their explosive backcourt, which combined for 53 points in the win.

Jeff Green and Kyle Korver combine for 35 points in the loss to Portland.

Canton native C.J. McCollum led the charge with 29 points – going 12-of-24 from the field. Damian Lillard didn’t shoot the ball particularly well – going just 7-of-20 from the floor, including 1-of-8 from beyond the arc, but he was 9-of-9 from the stripe and led both squads with nine assists.

Jusuf Nurkic led the Blazers with 10 rebounds and their bench combined for 22 more – two fewer boards than the Cavaliers grabbed as a team.

Cleveland actually out-shot the Blazers, 51 percent to 45 percent, but Portland’s dominance on the glass gave them 16 more possessions. The Blazers also went 15-of-19 from the stripe compared to a 12-of-21 mark for the Wine &amp; Gold.

Turning Point -- After a nip-and-tuck first half, the Blazers threatened to blow things open late in the third period and again midway through the fourth. But the Cavaliers kept coming at them – whittling Portland’s 15-point edge with 7:09 to play to just three, 105-102, on five straight points from George Hill.

But that was as good as it would get for Cleveland.

After cutting it to a single possession with just under three minutes to play, Al-Farouq Aminu canned a three-pointer followed by a step-back basket by Evan Turner.

Jordan Clarkson drilled a three on Cleveland’s next possession, but Damian Lillard would proceed to score the game’s final three points to seal the deal.

By the Numbers – 6 … active players who’ve tallied at least 400 double-doubles – a list that now includes LeBron James following his 35-point, 14-rebound performance on Thursday night. Cleveland’s four-time MVP joins a list that includes Chris Paul, Dirk Nowtizki, Dwight Howard, Zach Randolph and Pau Gasol.

Quotable – Coach Tyronn Lue, on Thursday night’s loss in Portland …

”Of course you want to win every game, but I think the way we played – blitzing the basketball, scrapping, competing. This is a tough team that had won 10 in a row, so you can take some good things away from this game.”

Up Next -- The Cavaliers close out their longest trip of the season on St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago – taking on the Lottery-bound Bulls at the United Center. Cleveland returns home for a much-needed three-game homestand – welcoming the Bucks to town on Monday, the East-leading Raptors on Wednesday and the Suns on Friday night. After that trio of games, it’s another road stint – playing three games in four nights, with visits to Brooklyn, Miami and Charlotte on the docket.

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Shorthanded Cavs Can't Complete Comeback in Portland

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#CavsBlazers Postgame: George Hill - March 15, 2018

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#CavsBlazers Postgame: LeBron James - March 15, 2018

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#CavsBlazers Postgame: Jordan Clarkson - March 15, 2018

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#CavsBlazers Postgame: Coach Lue - March 15, 2018

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LeBron James Scores 35 at Blazers

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GAME RECAP: Blazers 113, Cavaliers 105

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Jeff Green Steps Through for the Slam

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3‑15‑18 at Blazers