CLEVELAND (AP) Jordan Clarkson made all six of his 3-point attempts and scored 28 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers ended a six-game losing streak with a 110-104 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.
Tristan Thompson scored 25 points while Larry Nance Jr., who replaced the injured Kevin Love in the starting lineup, had 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Love, Cleveland’s leading scorer, missed his second game this week because of a sore back.
The Cavaliers completed a stretch of five games in seven days, including a 143-101 loss in Dallas on Friday. The team arrived in Cleveland around 3 a.m. Saturday.
Damian Lillard returned after missing two games because of back spasms and scored 23 points, but Portland dropped to 5-12 and is 2-10 this month. The Trail Blazers have lost four straight and five of seven.
Carmelo Anthony, playing his third game with Portland, scored 11 points in 35 minutes. Anthony was 5 of 15 from the field and missed all eight of his 3-point attempts.
Cleveland led 100-88 midway through the fourth quarter, but Lillard scored the Blazers’ next nine points, cutting the lead to 102-97. Baskets by Thompson and Nance halted Portland’s rally.
Lillard had 16 points in the fourth. CJ McCollum finished with 20 points.
Cleveland led by seven at halftime and went ahead 61-46 early in the third quarter, a run keyed by 3-pointers from rookie Darius Garland and Cedi Osman.
Portland answered with two baskets by Anthony and 3-pointers from LIllard and McCollum, and cut the margin to two.
Clarkson’s 3-pointer iust before the buzzer gave Cleveland a 76-69 lead after three. He followed with another 3-pointer on the first possession of the fourth.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: C Hassan Whiteside (sore right hip) missed his second straight game. Anthony Tolliver started in his place and scored nine points. … Gary Trent Jr., who started Thursday, came off the bench with Lillard’s return. … G Rodney Hood, who played two seasons with the Cavaliers, including their 2018 NBA Finals team, scored 11 points.
Cavaliers: Collin Sexton scored 19 points. … Clarkson was 10 of 12 from the foul line and scored nine points off the bench in the second quarter. … Thompson, a 61% free throw shooter, was 7 of 7 at the line.
TOUGH GO
Cleveland’s tightly packed schedule, which also has three games next week, is one reason why coach John Beilein is being cautious with Love, who also didn’t play in New York on Sunday with the back issue.
”He could probably gut through it, but it’s not advantageous for us or the team tonight or in the future if he tries to gut this through,” Beilein said.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Visit Chicago on Monday, ending a six-game trip.
Cavaliers: Host Brooklyn on Monday, the second of six straight games at home.
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