PORTLAND -- The first game of the Trail Blazers homestand-ending back-to-back wasn’t decided until the final moments of the game. The second was all but over by the end of the second quarter.
Portland held Cleveland to four points through the first six minutes and led by as many as 18 points in the first quarter 21 in the second before coasting to a 129-110, wire-to-wire victory versus the Cavaliers Friday night at the Moda Center.
“(Thursday) night against Philadelphia, I thought that was a complete win where the entire team contributed,” said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. “It was a different win tonight that last night against Philadelphia. I think both of them were complete games.”
The Trail Blazers are now 15-10 overall and 8-5 at home this season. Portland has now won three-straight at home for the first time this season and have logged wins in five of their last six contests.
“I thought it was a very solid homestand,” said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. “We were just talking about Orlando, Philly and the game tonight, I thought each game was a very solid win in its own way. I like the way we played in each of those games in a different way. Orlando was kind of a game we were able to control for the most part. Philadelphia obviously was a great win for us. And then tonight we came out with good energy at both ends. I liked what we did, we took care of the business we needed to take care of.”
While the Trail Blazers have had issues at times this holding double-digit leads -- to be fair, that’s been somewhat common for most teams this season -- the desire to finish the homestand on a high note and the Cavaliers’ disinterest in playing defense made it all but certain there would be no comeback, or even much of a threat of one, on a snowy night in Portland.
So after the Trail Blazers started the game by outscoring the Cavaliers 22-4 in the first six minutes, it seemed reasonable to think that perhaps they might have an easy night, a rarity for Portland so far this season.
The Cavaliers did managed to cut the lead to 10 by the start of the second quarter, and had they been able to get that advantage down to single digits, perhaps the game goes a different, more competitive direction.
But after letting Cleveland stay just within arm’s reach for the first part of the second quarter, Portland finished out the first half by outscoring the Cavs 22-12, a run capped by a Carmelo Anthony three as time expired, to take a 73-52 lead into the intermission.
Portland pushed the lead to 26 in the third quarter and then slammed the door shut by taking a 30-point advantage with just over seven minutes to play in regulation. The only thing left to be decided at that point was how many minutes Portland’s rookies and end-of-the-rotation players would get and how respectable the Cavaliers would make the final score appear.
Five Trail Blazers finished in double figured led by 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from three for Gary Trent Jr., who also tallied three rebounds and two assists in 36 minutes.
Anthony followed up a season-high in scoring Thursday night with a 23-point effort in 22 minutes Friday night. Enes Kanter continues to more than hold his own filling in for the injured Jusuf Nurkic, going 9-of-11 from the field for 21 points while grabbing 13 rebounds for another double-double.
Damian Lillard added 20 points, nine assists, three rebounds and a steal, though playing under 30 minutes might be his most important stat from Friday’s win. Anfernee Simons rounded out the double-digit scorers with 16 points off the bench.
Colin Sexton led the Cavs with 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Jarrett Allen added 22 points and five rebounds.
After playing three-straight at home, the Trail Blazers now head out to play three on the road starting with a Valentine’s Day game versus the Mavericks in Dallas. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
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February 13, 2021 at 01:19PM
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Blazers Go 3-0 During Homestand With Wire-To-Wire Victory Versus Cavs - Trailblazers.com
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