Wrap-Up – After three-and-a-half games mired in an early-season funk, Cavaliers coach David Blatt saw that his squad needed a serious spark. And in the second half of Tuesday’s matchup with the Blazers, the Wine and Gold went small to get a big win – overcoming an 18-point deficit to snap their slide with a 105-100 win at The Q.
Cleveland actually began chopping away on Portland’s edge near the end of the first half – slicing the Blazers’ big lead in half at halftime. But when the Wine and Gold went with a lineup that included Jared Cunningham in the backcourt and Kevin Love at the 5, the squad’s energy and defensive presence picked up noticeably.
And when Richard Jefferson canned a trey late in the third quarter to give Cleveland its first lead since the game’s opening minutes, the Cavaliers had taken total control of the action.
Of course, for all the talk of lineup changes, the Cavaliers’ constant – LeBron James – was spectacular again down the stretch, notching 14 of his team-high 33 points in the final quarter. It was the second time in as many outings – and eighth time this season – that the four-time MVP has posted double-digits in the fourth quarter.
On the night, LeBron went 14-of-24 from the floor, doubling-up with a game-high 10 boards to go with three assists, two steals and a game-high three blocks – one more than the Blazers as a team.
Kevin Love followed up with 18 points, a team-high four assists and a career-high-tying four steals on the night.
Matthew Dellavedova, in his third straight start, finished with a season-high 17 points – going 7-for-12 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Mo Williams, who Delly replaced in the starting lineup, was strong again off the bench – rounding out the Cavaliers in double-figures with 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting.
Both Cavalier guards had their hands full – as the Wine and Gold always does – with Portland’s Damien Lillard, who finished with 33 points of his own, with the two-time All-Star adding six boards and six assists.
Both teams shot the ball well – each going 40-for-79 from the floor, with the Blazers drilling 11 treys and the Cavaliers, nine. But the Wine and Gold shot 80 percent from the stripe to Portland’s 56 percent and the Cavaliers committed only nine miscues on the evening.
Turning Point — When Portland’s Allen Crabbe converted on a three-point play with 4:41 to play in the first half, the Cavaliers found themselves down by 18. After both teams went back and forth, LeBron’s layup with just under two minutes to go seemed to ignite the team (and crowd).
Jared Cunningham’s steal and two free throws, followed by another layup from James cut the Blazers’ lead to 11. J.R. Smith’s bomb got Cleveland to within eight and, after another C.J. McCollum trey, LeBron hit a pair of free throws to halve Portland’s 18-point edge.
The Wine and Gold went small to start the second stanza and eventually erased Portland’s lead. But Cleveland laid the groundwork in those closing moments of the first half.
By the Numbers – .894 … Cavaliers’ winning percentage (17-2) over the Western Conference over the last 19 games. Cleveland is 10-0 against the West during that span at Quicken Loans Arena and 3-1 overall so far this season.
Quotable – LeBron James, on the Cavaliers cutting into Portland’s first-half lead …
“We had to play every possession like it was our last. We started to get a lot of timely stops and tried to finish out the quarter the right way. We did that in the second quarter. It made it a better feeling going into halftime.”
Up Next -After snapping their three-game skein on Tuesday at The Q, the Wine and Gold get back on the road – heading back to the Sunshine State for a Friday night meeting with the Magic, who the Cavaliers dropped by two touchdowns on Nov. 23 in Cleveland. After a nice three-day break, the Wine and Gold head to Beantown to face the Celtics for the first time this season. After their meeting in Boston, the Cavs play their final three home contests of the month of December – taking on the Thunder, Sixers and Knicks at The Q before heading West for their monster Christmas Day matchup with Golden State.
