CLEVELAND — Things are bad right now for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They once again didn’t play with the effort needed to win a 48-minute basketball game. This time, they lost to a mediocre Portland Trail Blazers team 122-110. Portland came into this game losing eight of their last 10 and were on the second leg of a back-to-back.
Teams that play hard, fast, and apply pressure in the backcourt have given Cleveland problems all year. We saw that in their losses to the Toronto Raptors and the Miami Heat earlier in the season. The concerning part about this game is that the Blazers aren’t exactly good at playing that style.
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The Cavs were able to keep the game close until the end of the second quarter. Runs to close the first half and open the second allowed Portland to grab an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter. The Cavaliers fought their way back to make it slightly competitive down the stretch, but it was a little too late to change the outcome. This has been a recurring theme so far this season.
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One of the things that makes this loss so frustrating for the Cavs is that they got good showings from both Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.
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Mitchell is playing some of the best basketball of his career. That was on display again as he simply got wherever he wanted on the court, pouring in 33 points. Mitchell once again played with effort. The only issue was that he couldn’t get the three-point shot to fall as he went 3-13 from distance.
Mobley came out of the gates aggressively on offense. His teammates found him early and often as he compiled 12 of his 23 points in the first quarter. Even after that initial run, he was a difference maker on both sides of the floor and played with a level of intensity that this team needed.
Good showings from the Cavs’ two best players weren’t enough on a night they were without Jarrett Allen, Sam Merrill, and Max Strus. Darius Garland continued to struggle as he doesn’t quite look like himself since returning from the injury. He contributed just six points and four assists on 2-13 shooting.
De’Andre Hunter also had an incredibly disappointing game. He didn’t have the attention to detail or effort the team needed with him starting at power forward. Hunter finished the game with 10 points and three rebounds on 3-9 shooting.
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As has been the case for much of the season, the Cavs struggled to get the three-ball to fall. They converted just 13 of their 52 attempts (25%). They weren’t able to get to the basket or the free-throw line enough to overcome their poor outside shooting.
Deni Avdija led the Blazers with 27 points on 5-10 shooting with eight rebounds and seven assists.
This was the 10th loss for Cleveland. They didn’t pick up their 10th loss until Feb. 4 last season.
The Cavs will be back in action Friday as they host the San Antonio Spurs.