Cavs thwart late Trail Blazers rally to secure second straight win

The Cavs surge back to above .500

The Cleveland Cavaliers have regained a winning record after surviving another cardiac game, this time at home against a struggling Portland Trail Blazers team. With the hard-earned 107-104 victory, the Cavs have now won four of their last six assignments.

Following an impressive five-game campaign away from home, they made the most out of playing in front of the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse crowd, their only one before embarking on another road trip to continue a very tough early-season schedule.

Cleveland was not disappointed, but still had some bittersweet feelings with the homecoming of Larry Nance Jr., a local fan favorite that was traded to Portland during the offseason.

Leading for nearly the entire game, the young (and undermanned) Cavaliers squad once again displayed renewed vigor and just as they did two nights ago, successfully thwarted a fourth-quarter push by their opponents.

The Cavaliers once found themselves in a precarious situation at the end of the game: up by just three points with the ball in the hands of one of the league’s deadliest shooters in Damian Lillard.

With only about six seconds remaining in the game, Lillard was able to hoist up a step-back attempt from the left corner but found Jarrett Allen, one among the Cavaliers with the longest wingspans, switched unto him to contest his shot.

Back iron. The Cavs have just won another exciting match against legitimate playoff contenders.

Can the Cavs sustain the momentum?

Despite losing key rotation players in starter Lauri Markkanen and a primary backup in former All-Star Kevin Love to health and safety protocols, the Cavs appear to begin to figure out what it takes to close out and win tight games.

Now can they sustain that momentum and display some consistency going forward?

Jarrett Allen is showing he can, one-upping his incredible performance in Charlotte to finish with a nearly identical stat line of 24 points and 17 rebounds. He also added four assists, a block, and a steal in another extremely efficient performance that included the game-winning stop against Damian Lillard.

Darius Garland also balled out with 19 points and 10 assists, while backcourt partner Collin Sexton chipped in with 21 markers in the win. The duo had shot poorly thus far in the season but finally benefitted from the comfort of playing at home to combine for a 64 percent clip against Portland.

Rookie Evan Mobley was solid with another double-double with 11 points and 11 boards, and while missing Isaac Okoro to a lingering hamstring injury, the bench mob of Cedi Osman, Ricky Rubio, and seldom-used Dean Wade and Dylan Windler continued to deliver when called upon.

And even as Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Norman Powell all scored 21 or more points, Cleveland’s defense is slowly becoming dependable when it matters. That will be crucial if the team, who has moved up to 5-4 thus far the season, is serious about aiming for a potential play-in spot.

With the exception of Charlotte, who only made it into the play-in tournament, all of the Cavaliers’ games so far have been against teams that appeared in the most recent NBA playoffs. Not too shabby for the third-worst team in the Eastern Conference last season.

Now the acid test continues for the Cavs as they are scheduled to head back out to take on the Toronto Raptors up north on November 6, before visiting the New York Knicks on the 8th.