Wrap-Up – Playing their third game in four nights – and maybe suffering from a Christmas Day hangover following their huge Finals rematch with the Warriors – the Cavaliers dropped a game they’ll need to quickly put in the rearview mirror, a one-sided XXX-XX defeat at the hands of the Blazers on Saturday night in Portland.
It was obvious after one quarter that the Wine and Gold didn’t have it in an arena that’s been unkind to them over the years, with the Blazers jumping out to a 34-12 advantage after one quarter. It didn’t get better from there as the Cavaliers hit the halftime locker room shooting just 31 percent from the floor.
The Blazers extended their lead to 34 in the third quarter and later in the period – with a back-to-back remaining on their four-game West Coast roadie – Coach David Blatt began emptying his bench.
Four Cavaliers finished in double-figures, led by Kevin Love, who notched 13 points in his return to the Pacific Northwest. Love, who starred at nearby Lake Oswego High School, went 4-of-7 from three-point range in 20 minutes of play.
LeBron James followed up with 12 points on 4-for-13 shooting, adding five assists and four boards. Matthew Dellavedova got the start in place of Kyrie Irving – who got the night off as the Cavaliers work him slowly back into game-shape after missing the first 24 games of the season – was the only other starter in double-figures, finishing with 10 points, finishing 4-of-8 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from long-distance.
Richard Jefferson led Cleveland’s reserves with 10 points and Tristan Thompson led the squad with 11 boards.
Turning Point – Unfortunately for the Wine and Gold, Saturday’s game didn’t have an actual turning point. The Cavaliers never led and found themselves down double-digits by the midway point of the first quarter.
Things just got messier from there, with Cleveland falling behind by 22 points after one period and by 29 at intermission. Both teams scored 42 points in the second stanza, but that’s little consolation for a Cavaliers club that will look to rediscover its mojo in Phoenix.
By the Numbers – 16 … games this season – including Saturday night’s matchup in Phoenix – that Tristan Thompson has grabbed double-digit rebounds.
Quotable – Coach David Blatt, on what the Cavaliers should take from Saturday’s loss …
“Throw it in the trash. Nothing good we did tonight besides the third team, the third team came out and played as well as they could, but you throw this one in the trash. We have to watch the film for sure, throw it in the trash and do everything differently.”
Up Next – After playing three games in four nights – including a pair of tough stops on their West Coast trip – the Cavaliers get a much-needed day off on Phoenix. On Monday night, they’ll play the first half of another back-to-back, taking on the Suns before closing out the roadie on Tuesday night against the Nuggets in Denver. The Wine and Gold return home for a pair – against the Magic on January 2 and vs. the Raptors on the 4th. After that, it’s one of the tougher trips of the season – a six-game, nine-day junket that wraps up with three Texas teams.
