The Portland Trail Blazers spent much of the second half merely a big shot or two away from reeling control away from the Cleveland Cavaliers. For a team that finished among the top-10 in crunch-time wins in each of the last five seasons, that mindset was tried and true. Unfortunately, those clutch, reputation-building buckets never came on this Wednesday night, and they fell 107-104 as a result.
For brief stretches, Damian Lillard threatened to break from his slump. Together, he, CJ McCollum, and Norman Powell poured in a combined 70 points. It proved to be a case of too little, too late, as Jarrett Allen and the Cavaliers’ eight-man rotation held steady on their home floor.