The Cleveland Cavaliers cruised past the Portland Trail Blazers, outscoring their hosts 130-111. It was the fifth consecutive loss by the Blazers, and came in spite of 21 points from Caleb Love and 20 points from Shaedon Sharpe. Jarrett Allen led the way for the Cavs with a career-high 40 points.
Player of the Game
Caleb came off the bench for 30 minutes and left the floor with eight field goals in 15 tries (3 for 8 from the three-point line) with 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. There were a couple of turnovers
in there, too, but this is a line that a lot of NBA players wish they could produce.
Stat of the Night
Two problem areas recently were problem areas tonight, but in not quite the usual way. The Blazers were a reasonable 75% from the free-throw line, but they were only there for 12 attempts. Meanwhile, 22 turnovers buried any positive moments in the game for the Blazers. Looks like it matters whether or not Deni Avdija and Jrue Holiday play, which tonight they did not.
What We Noticed
Struggles were the name of this game for Donovan Clingan, who seemed unable to catch a break until the game was too far gone to matter. As noted above, the opposite was true for Cleveland’s starting center. The good news is Donovan was a major contributor to an 18-6 Blazers run on both ends of the court in the fourth quarter. His final numbers were modest (8 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks), but he was trending in the right direction!
Who was that blur that just went by? Oh, that was Blake Wesley, back in action after missing 43 games with a right foot fracture. He made his presence felt immediately and finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and 3 turnovers in 19 high-speed minutes.
Up Next
The Blazers face the Phoenix Suns at the Moda Center this Tuesday Jan. 3 at 8 pm Pacific.
