Cavs blow big lead, lose to Trail Blazers at home

CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers' good fortune as of late went up in smoke Thursday. They blew a 16-point lead in the third quarter and were hammered by the lowly Portland Trail Blazers, 103-95, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Cavs (10-9) went on a five-minute scoring draught in the fourth quarter, which allowed Portland (6-12) to blow past them and never look back. It's hard to win when your point guard, Darius Garland, commits eight turnovers. The Cavs had a chance to cut their deficit to four points with about two minutes remaining, but the officials ruled that Evan Mobley's basket came after the 24-second clock had expired. Portland's second-year guard, Shaedon Sharpe, was the best player on the court. He finished with a season-high 29 points, a career-high 10 rebounds and five assists. By the end of the game, boos rang down from the rafters. "That's their choice to do that," Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of the fans. Bickerstaff didn't make it to the postgame media area until long after the game. "I was trying to get an understanding of where we're going and how we're going to get there," Bickerstaff said of his extended meeting with players. Guard Donovan Mitchell paced the Cavs with 23 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. Mobley added 20 points, eight rebounds and two steals. "We were not consistent," Mobley said. "We'd go up and then not execute. If gave them confidence in the end. When we did get turnovers, sometimes we'd turn the ball over ourselves." The Cavs, who were outscored 63-49 in the second half, forced 22 turnovers. However, Cleveland committed 17 miscues of its own. "If we do the right things, good things will happen," Bickerstaff said. The Cavs dropped to 5-6 at home. "It's been an up-and-down season so far," Mobley said. "We have to stay locked in." Garland finished with 15 points and seven assists, while center Jarrett Allen added 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Portland's 12 unanswered points, capped by Sharpe's 3-pointer, tied the score at 70 with 1:27 left in the third quarter. Garland's floater with 0.6 seconds left in the third handed the Cavs a 75-74 advantage. But their lead disappeared quickly in the fourth quarter, when Cleveland was outscored 29-20. The Trail Blazers closed the first half on a 16-6 run to pull within six points, 46-40. The Cavs came into the game having won six of their previous eight games. Soaring to new heights Bickerstaff said before the game Mobley is reaching the point of stardom in the NBA. "You can see it in his game," he said. "He has a belief and confidence to get him where we all think he can go." Mobley recorded 17 points, a career-high 19 rebounds, a season-high seven blocks and shot 8-of-11 from the field in the Atlanta game Tuesday. He was the first NBA player since Shaquille O'Neal in 2003-04 to record 17 or more points, 19 or more rebounds, seven or more blocks and shoot .700 from the field. O'Neal had 31 points, 26 rebounds, seven blocks vs. Milwaukee on March 31, 2004. Quick lineup Bickerstaff has been tinkering with a lineup of Mobley or Allen, along with four guards. It's been effective in the few times he's used it. "It gives us so much room," the coach said. "We have guys who can guard multiple positions." Bickerstaff said he can play Mitchell, Garland and Caris LeVert at the same time because they are all "unique" and "dynamic." Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.