Fourth Quarter Rally Helps Cavs Top Blazers

The Cavaliers had no shortage of heroes in Thursday night’s thriller in Portland. But the man that might’ve given them the biggest lift actually saw less than 11 minutes of action and wasn’t on the floor in the fourth quarter.

Ricky Rubio made his eagerly-awaited season debut, and the Wine and Gold rallied late – clamping down defensively and pulling past the struggling Blazers, 119-113, in the penultimate contest of the five-game roadie at the Moda Center in Portland. 

Cleveland didn’t lead at any point through the first 43 minutes of the game. But after Donovan Mitchell gave the Cavs their first advantage of the night – splashing home a 22-footer with 4:40 remaining – they never trailed again.

In that fourth quarter, the Cavaliers shot 61 percent from the floor while holding the Blazers to just 37 percent – and despite Damian Lillard scoring 15 of his 50 points in the period, Cleveland completely took over down the stretch, closing the contest on a 10-4 run. 

Mitchell, who struggled through the opening stanza – going 4-of-12 from the floor before intermission – caught fire in the closing quarter, notching 10 of his team-high 26 points in the fourth, going 5-of-8 from the floor in the period, 11-of-23 overall. 

Jarrett Allen had easily his finest outing of the trip – matching a season-high with 24 points and a team-high 10 rebounds, going 11-for-17 from the floor, adding six assists and a steal in the win. 

Darius Garland was outstanding in the closing moments on Thursday, netting eight of his 20 points in the period, doubling-up with a game-high 10 assists – going 5-for-12 overall, including 2-of-3 from long-range and 8-of-10 from the stripe. 

Evan Mobley excelled on both ends in the victory – notching 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, adding eight boards, three assists and a blocked shot. The soft-spoken sophomore from USC went into the final period with four fouls, but remained aggressive defensively as the Cavaliers shut the Blazers down late – handing them their fifth straight loss. 

Isaac Okoro had a solid two-way performance of his own, rounding out the Cavaliers in double-figures with 11 points, going 4-of-4 from the floor to go with five boards and a pair of steals. 

Rubio, who made his first appearance in a Cavaliers uniform since tearing his left ACL late last December, picked up right where he left off despite a strict minutes-restriction – netting nine points, three boards and an assist, going 3-of-5 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. 

Lillard topped the 50-point plateau for the 13^th time in his prolific career, going 16-for-28 from the floor, including 5-of-13 from three-point range and 13-of-15 from the stripe. Jusuf Nurkic led both teams with 12 boards, adding a dozen points and four assists in the loss.

After watching the Jazz rally past them in the closing moments on Tuesday night in Utah, the Wine and Gold were not about to allow a repeat performance in Portland. 

The Blazers jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and extended their edge to two touchdowns before halftime. But the Cavs chipped away in the second half and tied the score at 97-apeice with eight minutes to play. 

Portland pulled ahead again, but Jarrett Allen’s putback got them back to within one, 104-103, with 5:12 remaining. Evan Mobley snuffed Jusuf Nurkic’s layup attempt on the other end and Donovan Mitchell gave Cleveland its first lead on the next possession. 

From there, the Cavs went on a 12-5 run, giving them enough breathing room to hold on for the win – evening their record on the five-game roadie.

21.3, 13.3 … points and rebounds that Jarrett Allen has averaged over his last four games against the Blazers – all Cavaliers victories – scoring exactly 24 points in three of those contests and doubling-up in all four, shooting an even 70 percent (35-of-50) from the floor and 79 percent (15-of-19) from the stripe. 

Ricky Rubio, on his work on the defensive end in Portland after the long layoff …

“Defense, I think, was the hardest part today. I’m connecting to our system and reacting to what they’re doing. I think it’s the last thing that’s going to come, but I worked hard to be out there. I’ve prepared 100 percent. I’ve been ready for a long time, and they held me back a little longer than I expected. But it was for a good cause.”

Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and Rafa Hernandez-Brito from Power 98.1.

 With Thursday night’s victory in the books, the Wine and Gold wrap up their five-game trip on Saturday night in the Twin Cities, taking on Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves. 

From there, the Cavaliers play three of their next four at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – beginning with an MLK Day matchup with the Pelicans. Cleveland travels to Memphis for a Wednesday night battle with Ja Morant and the Grizzlies before returning home for a huge back-to-back, taking on the Warriors on Friday night followed by a Saturday night showdown with the Bucks.