The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to end their road trip strong as they defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 122-111. This wasn’t a complete 48-minute performance, but it was more in line with what we’ve seen from the Cavs throughout the season before their four-game losing streak.
Both teams started out strong offensively as they each scored 33 points in the opening frame. Cleveland began to create separation in the second quarter thanks to their defense coming alive. They pushed their advantage to as much as 11 before taking a 60-52 lead into the break.
The impressive defense didn’t last. Cleveland gave up 34 points in the third quarter which allowed Portland back into the game. Fortunately, 13 points from Ty Jerome in that frame allowed them to enter the fourth with a six-point advantage.
Portland clawed back at the start of the fourth, but the Cavs proved to be too much down the stretch. Their high-end talent won out late. Portland couldn’t stop Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen’s attacks inside.
Garland led the Cavs with 27 points on 11-19 shooting with eight assists. Jerome wasn’t far behind with 25 points on 9-15 shooting to go along with three helpers in just 21 minutes of play. Evan Mobley provided 21 points on 8-15 shooting with 12 boards and four assists.
Portland had three players lead them with 18 points: Donovan Clingan, Shaedon Sharpe, and Scoot Henderson.
The win doesn’t erase the memory of the four-game skid, but it is nice to put that a little more in the rearview mirror with a second consecutive victory.
Darius Garland is playing aggressively again
Garland hasn’t been bad during this road trip. The three-point shot hasn’t fallen, but his overall stat line has otherwise been fine. But you haven’t felt his impact as much as you’d like during this rough patch. That wasn’t the case in Portland.
At his best, Garland is an orchestrator who gets everyone else involved while continually finding his way into the paint and stretching the defense with his off-the-dribble shooting. We felt that again as he continually probed the defense on and off-ball. The Blazers didn’t have an answer for him as he continually created quality looks.
This was seen most down the stretch. Garland was in complete control of the offense as he provided nine much-needed fourth-quarter points to close out the win. It was nice to get a reminder of how good Garland has been this season late in games.
Sam Merrill can be a game-changer when his shot is falling
The Cavs needed energy on the offensive end without Donovan Mitchell. That’s presumably why head coach Kenny Atkinson turned to Merrill in the starting lineup. He provided that as he canned five of his seven three-point attempts. The timing of when he hit those shots is what made the difference.
Merrill’s two initial threes at the start of the game allowed the offense to get into a nice rhythm in what was an offensive shootout in the first quarter. Then, he buried a much-needed triple midway through the fourth just when Portland seemed to be going on a run. His three came after a blown layup attempt from Sharpe that would’ve made it a one-point game. That shot completely flipped the momentum of the fourth quarter. The Cavs used that to start an 8-0 run that eventually put the game away.
Elite shooters have a way of changing the trajectory of games. Portland had all of the energy. They had a strong start to the fourth and it appeared like this game was going to be decided in the final minute. But that Merrill three completely took the air out of the building. He was in the game to make shots like that, and he did.
