FILE – Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers takes the ball off the field during the third inning against the Portland Trail Blazers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on November 23, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers beat the Trail Blazers 114-96. Image Jason Miller/Getty/AFP
Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 34 while Jarrett Allen had 24 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Portland Trail Blazers, 114-96, on Wednesday night.
For Mitchell, it was his 10th game with at least 30 points this season. Cleveland point guard Darius Garland scored 24 points and directed the line with 12 assists to lead the Cavaliers to victory in four games in their home country.
Jusef Nurkic had 22 points while Jerami Grant added 21 for the Trail Blazers, who fell second in a row in a four-game run and fourth in a row overall.
Anfernee Simons added 20 points for Portland, who played a second straight game without star defender Damian Lillard, who was sidelined with a sole strain in his right shin.
The Cavaliers took a 16-point lead at the start of the second half thanks to quick long-range shots from the field.
✅ @_bigjayy_ (24 PTS, 13 REB) hold the table.
✅ @dariusgarland22 (24 PTS, 12 AST) earn a penny.
✅ @spidadmitchell (34 PTS, 2 STL, 6 3pm) brought an extra bucket.@cavs Victory! #Tell Me pic.twitter.com/gsEy6pK8qn– NBA (@NBA) November 24, 2022
Grant solved the problem when Lillard was eliminated, scoring 15 points in the second game from 4/6 shots from the field for Portland.
Draw 21-19, Cleveland scored the last 9 points of the first half to lead 28-21. Garland hit a pair of three points to open the second half to take a 34-21 lead.
Portland used a 9-0 win to reduce its 15-point deficit to six, 73-67, before Garland and Allen led the Cavaliers in a surge that put them 87-75 ahead after three innings.
The defense helped the Cavaliers in the fourth half as they held Portland goalless with six consecutive possessions, allowing Cleveland to extend the lead to 20, 97-77, with 7:27 remaining.
The Blazers managed to take the lead down to nine, 100-91, on Simons’ 31 foot 3 with 4:35 left. But Cleveland responded with the next six points, including Mitchell’s pitch with 3:11 remaining.
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