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Trail Blazers 101, Cavaliers 82
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Trail Blazers rolled to a 101-82 victory over the Cavaliers on Tuesday night at the Moda Center.
Guard Damian Lillard produced a game-high 27 points plus seven assists and six rebounds to lead the Trail Blazers (2-1). Portland also got 21 points and six rebounds from guard Wesley Matthews. Center Robin Lopez added 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting to go with six rebounds.
Forward Kevin Love collected 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers (1-2), but he had far too little help. Forward LeBron James finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while guard Kyrie Irving contributed only nine points and five assists on a 3-for-17 shooting night.
After making their first 10 shots, the Cavaliers struggled from the field the rest of the game, finishing at 36.5 percent (31-for-85). The Blazers wound up at 49.3 percent (37-for-75).
Portland started the second half with a 12-4 run to extend a five-point halftime lead to 67-54. The Cavaliers whittled the margin to 76-69 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Blazers kept up the pressure, and when they stoked their advantage to 92-74 with 3:55 to play, the issue was decided.
The Cavs came out smoking, sinking their first 10 shots from the field — including 5-for-5 from 3-point range — to take a 27-20 lead. The Blazers responded with a 9-0 run to jump in front. Cleveland took a 34-31 advantage into the second quarter.
With Lillard and Lopez leading the way, Portland rallied to go ahead 55-50 at halftime. Lillard had 15 points, going 3-for-5 from 3-point range, while Lopez had 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
After its initial flawless run of shooting, Cleveland made just nine of its last 34 shots before the break and wound up at 43.2 from the field by halftime. Portland, meanwhile, shot at a 52.5 percent clip (21-for-40) and ruled the boards 26-19 through intermission.
The Blazers ended up with a 48-41 rebounding edge.
NOTES: Portland native F Kevin Love, making his first trip home as a member of the Cavaliers, got tickets from each of his teammates for tonight’s game. “Nobody was allowed to say no,” F LeBron James said with a laugh. … Long-time European coach David Blatt, a Boston native in his first season coaching the Cavaliers, on transitioning to the NBA: “I feel comfortable. One thing I’m doing real well with is the language. I’ve been on top of that.” … Portland coach Terry Stotts, asked what the Cavaliers do differently on offense than other NBA teams: “They do the same things. They just do it a little bit better than a lot of teams.” … The Blazers, one of the best offensive teams in the NBA last season, began the night shooting 42 percent from the field. “We need more movement, both with the ball and off the ball,” Stotts said.
