Gary Trent Jr. scored 26 points and Carmelo Anthony added 23 as the Portland Trail Blazers jumped out to an early lead and stormed to a 129-110 victory over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
Enes Kanter contributed 21 points and 13 rebounds and Damian Lillard had 20 points for the Blazers, who went 3-0 during a short return to the Pacific Northwest before playing six of their next seven on the road. Portland returned last week from a 3-3 road trip.
Collin Sexton scored 25 points for the Cavaliers while Jarrett Allen had 22. Cleveland has lost six in a row and seven of nine.
One game after the Cavaliers were blown out 133-95 at Denver, Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff adjusted his starting lineup, opening with Taurean Prince on the floor at the outset while Allen came off the bench after two starts.
The smaller but quicker lineup did little to interrupt the flow of the Trail Blazers, who entered off a 118-114 victory against the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.
Portland showed no ill effects after it was pushed to the final minutes by the 76ers. The Trail Blazers led 34-23 after one quarter Friday and 73-52 by halftime by shooting 60.5 percent over the opening 24 minutes.
Related: NBA playoff predictions – Bracket picks & 2024 Finals champion
Portland pushed its lead to 100-77 after three quarters and had its fourth player reach the 20-point mark when Anthony scored in the opening minute of the final period. Anfernee Simons had 16 points for the Trail Blazers while Harry Giles III grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Trail Blazers shot 51.8 percent from the field in the game and 37.1 percent from 3-point range. Lillard entered shooting 38.8 percent from long distance, but he didn’t make a 3-pointer in six attempts. Trent was 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
The Cavaliers improved after halftime, shooting 47.1 percent from the field in the third quarter, but they still were outscored 27-25 in the period. Cleveland shot 43.7 percent in the game.
Darius Garland had 17 points for the Cavaliers while Dylan Windler had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
–Field Level Media