Ricky Rubio return helps push Cavaliers to thrilling road win vs Blazers

Cleveland Cavaliers escape Portland with a roaring finish

The tides finally turned for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they complete a 119-113 comeback win on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers. After a disappointing collapse late in Utah just two nights ago, the Cavs found a way to overcome a strong start from the home team.

Despite trailing for nearly the entire night, the Cavaliers managed to outscore Portland by double-digits in the final period with stars Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and young phenom Evan Mobley combining for 27 of the team’s points in that deciding quarter.

Mitchell top-scored with 26 to lead three Cavaliers players who finished with 20-point scoring nights. Big man Jarrett Allen also put up 24 points, 10 boards, and a season-best six assists, and Garland added 20 to go with 10 assists in the victory.

On the other hand, Blazers superstar Damian Lillard saw his massive 50-point output put to naught as the Cavaliers roared back to steal the game in the clutch. Jerami Grant also added 22 markers for Portland in the loss.

The Cavs displayed composure in the clutch

A stark contrast to the late collapse in Utah that ruined an otherwise spectacular return for Donovan Mitchell to the city he called home since being drafted into the NBA in 2017, Cleveland found a way to complete the comeback despite being down by as much as 14 points on the road against another postseason-aspiring team.

Even as one of the key cogs of the offense in Caris LeVert continued to struggle, the return of Ricky Rubio and a balanced attack that saw all five starters (including Isaac Okoro) finish in double-figures seemed to offset that dilemma–at least for tonight.

Improving to 27-16 allows the Cavs to move back up to fourth in the suffocatingly close Eastern Conference playoff race, though only two games behind the second-placed Brooklyn Nets and half a game below the skidding Milwaukee Bucks for third.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to seal the arduous road trip with another crucial win as they travel to the Twin Cities to face off against the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 14th.