The Portland Trail Blazers’ three most recent lottery picks led the team in scoring during a competitive 122-111 loss to the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers at home Tuesday night.

Blazers rookie center Donovan Clingan, second-year guard Scoot Henderson, and third-year guard Shaedon Sharpe — all three still just 21 years of age — each scored 18 points apiece against Cleveland. The production demonstrated a mix of promise and already realized potential for three of Portland’s most important young players.

Clingan supplemented his 18 points with 12 rebounds and three blocks while shooting 6-10 from the field and 2-3 on 3-pointers in 32 minutes. It was a double case of redemption for the rookie; he struggled mightily in Portland’s 129-116 loss to the Boston Celtics Sunday, and he fouled out in a frustrating 11 minutes during his first matchup with Cleveland on March 2. This time, Clingan held his own against Cleveland’s formidable big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, impacting the game on both sides while staying disciplined with just four fouls.

After going 2-10 for nine points against Boston, Henderson was also in need of a bounce-back performance against Cleveland. The young guard delivered by getting his 18 points on an efficient 6-12 shooting, while adding six rebounds, six assists and just two turnovers in 30 minutes.

Sharpe put up his 18 on 8-20 shooting, also registering four rebounds, two assists and two steals in a team-high 40 minutes. He wasn’t totally clicking against Cleveland, once again struggling to find his jump shot (he went 1-5 on 3s), but he wisely settled for the long-ball less. Six of Sharpe’s buckets came in the paint, including five in the restricted area.

“I just feel like [we’re] getting more comfortable with each other on the court and just reading each other better,” Henderson said about his play with Sharpe and Clingan.

With those three leading the charge — plus the usual production from forwards Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara and a welcome five 3-pointers from wing Matisse Thybulle — Portland put up a fight against the Cavs (a team that’s stingy even without star Donovan Mitchell, who missed the game due to injury management). Similar to Portland’s loss versus Boston, Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups talked about a lot of positives in his postgame press conference — effort, rebounding, assists, taking care of the ball. He felt poor shooting ultimately did them in, including a 63.6% mark from the free throw line and a 32.7% mark on 3s.

“We did a lot of good things in the game,” Billups said. “But, man, if you can’t keep up with them scoring the ball, it’s going to be very tough against an elite team like that.”

Billups also drew attention to a critical swing during the fourth quarter that seemed to snuff out Portland’s chances: With 6:20 remaining and Portland trailing 106-104, Sharpe missed a fastbreak layup; Sharpe and Portland’s bench wanted a foul but didn’t get it; the missed layup resulted in a Cavs 3 in transition seconds later.

At a timeout about a minute later, Billups got hit with a technical foul for still arguing the call. After Cleveland guard Darius Garland made the technical free throw, he scored two straight layups to complete an 8-0 run. Less than two minutes after looking like they would finally overtake Cleveland, the Blazers trailed 114-104 with 4:37 remaining and never threatened again.

“That’s a big, big moment, man, huge, a huge moment in the game,” Billups said about Sharpe’s layup attempt to potentially tie it. “We’re fighting uphill the whole game, and I think we’re finally there. … It should’ve been two free throws.”

For the second straight game, Portland hung tough against one of the East’s top teams and then faded away late. Even with the Cavaliers missing Mitchell and the Celtics missing key talent like star Jaylen Brown, they’re both quality opponents with stable infrastructures and other All-Stars on the roster. Both teams presented good late-season tests the developing Blazers can learn from.

“I know we can run with those guys,” Henderson said. “That’s what I get out of those games like that. We can compete with any team in the league, and in games like that it kinda shows, and then it shows why they’re great teams in the league right now. Little things during the game that they have down pat, we’ll just continue to learn.”