Jarrett Allen collected 24 points and 17 rebounds to lift the host Cleveland Cavaliers to a 107-104 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
Collin Sexton scored 21 points, Darius Garland added 19 points and 10 assists and Evan Mobley had 11 points and 11 rebounds to fuel the Cavaliers to their second straight win.
Damian Lillard scored a season-high 26 points despite a 3-for-12 performance from 3-point range.
Norman Powell scored 18 of his 23 points in the first half and CJ McCollum added 21 points for the Trail Blazers, who concluded a fruitless three-game trek and fell to 0-4 on the road this season.
Lillard drained a 3-pointer and McCollum made a short bucket to trim Cleveland’s lead to 103-101 before Mobley and Sexton answered with a pair of buckets to push the lead back to six. Lillard converted a 3-point play to halve the deficit, but his off-balance 3-point attempt caromed off the rim to end the game.
Cleveland held an 87-77 lead entering the fourth quarter before Anfernee Simons went to work. He made a driving layup, a 3-pointer and two long-range jumpers before McCollum connected from beyond the arc to trim Portland’s deficit to one at 93-92 with 8:06 left.
Lillard scored nine points to stake Portland to a 26-23 lead after the first quarter before Cleveland took over in the second.
Dylan Windler drained three 3-pointers and Garland connected twice from beyond the arc as the Cavaliers pushed their advantage to 12 before settling for a 60-53 lead at halftime.
Larry Nance Jr. was held without a point in his return to Cleveland to face his hometown team. He was sent to Portland as part of a three-team trade on Aug. 28 that also included the Chicago Bulls sending Lauri Markkanen to the Cavaliers.
Dean Wade scored seven points while making his first start of the season. He was elevated in the lineup after Markkanen was placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
–Field Level Media