The Portland Trail Blazers didn’t make it easy on themselves, but were able to avoid disaster and defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 123-110 on Monday night, bringing their record to 3-0 on their current road trip. CJ McCollum led all scorers with 35 points, and came up big down the stretch as Portland shook off a spirited Cavs rally to hold on for the victory. Cedi Osman led Cleveland with 27 points of his own.
After leaping out to a 23-point halftime lead, the Blazers were outscored 36-17 in the third quarter, and the Cavs were able to cut the deficit to just two points early in the fourth.