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Cavs vs Trail Blazers

by · November 24, 2019

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to get back into the win column against the Portland Trail Blazers despite the return of Damian Lillard. Though Lillard sparked a late surge in the fourth the Cavs held on to a 110-104 victory.

The first quarter was a bit slow for both teams and it ended in a 19-19 tie. The Cavs shot just 36 percent while the Trail Blazers shot even less at 30 percent. The Cavs advantage seemed to be the number of opportunities they had in the paint going 5 of 13 opposed to the Trail Blazers going 4 of 8. Neither team had success from the 3-point line. Tristan Thompson had a strong start with his 8 points, and his teammate Collin Sexton had an aggressive start with 6 points. For the Trail Blazers, CJ McCollum started with 6 points, as Dame was scoreless.

The story of the second quarter was the bench for both sides. Anthony Tolliver finished the half with 9 points for the Trail Blazers, and Clarkson had 9 points in the second quarter alone. Tristan continued his success finishing the quarter with 13 points. Dame stayed quiet finishing the half with 4 points, but was successful as a facilitator with 5 assists. Key factors for the Cavs were going 10 of 11 from the line, and dominating the glass with 8 more team rebounds than the Trail Blazers.

The third quarter had continued success from the same group of guys in CJ McCollum, Tristan Thompson, and Colin Sexton. Jordan Clarkson continued to be a big factor off the bench staying a perfect 3 for 3 from the 3-point line. Damian Lillard stayed quite as well adding only 3 more points to his total. The game became far more interesting in this quarter with a lot more back and forth scoring from both sides.

The fourth quarter did not disappoint as it had the most points from both sides. Damian Lillard woke up, and made things a little less comfortable for the Cavs. He finished the game going 4 of 9 from the 3-point line, and looked in regular Dame form down the stretch. But the Cavs were too much, and the Trail Blazers caught fire too late. Jordan Clarkson looked to be the MVP of the game by matching his scoring total of 14 in the fourth quarter alone. He finished the game with 28 points and went a perfect 6 of 6 from the 3-point line. Tristan Thompson was right there with him with his 25 points, and went a surprising 7 of 7 from the line.

The Cavs showed they were locked in by buckling down at the free throw line and dominating the boards. They now have a 5-11 record, and will look to carry this momentum in their back to back vs the Brooklyn Nets at home.

Written By: Anthony Barnes