Cavalier approach works out against Trail Blazers thanks to former Virginia teammates De'Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome, who lead way as Cleveland pulls off another huge comeback

CLEVELAND — De'Andre Hunter brought the Cavaliers out of the abyss. Trailing by 18 points in the second half, Cleveland posted a come-from-behind 133-129 overtime victory over the pesky Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday at Rocket Arena. It was the Cavs' 10th win in a row and their 14th in the last 15 games. They improved to 50-10 to become the first team to reach 50 wins this season. It's the 13th time they've hit the 50-win mark. Hunter, making his first start since being traded to Cleveland on Feb. 6, scored a game-high 32 points — nine in overtime — and added seven rebounds. He was 8-of-15 from the field, including 5-of-9 on 3-pointers. Cleveland is 8-0 with Hunter in the lineup. "He carried us in every way," Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. "There's no way we get this done without him." Ty Jerome, Hunter's college teammate at the University of Virginia — which also happens to be the Cavaliers — wasn't too bad, either. He came off the bench to stuff the stat sheet with 25 points, five rebounds, six assists and a career-high six steals. "We needed his ballhandling, moxie and grit," Atkinson said. "He was phenomenal. He's playing great basketball." Jerome, who had the ball in his hands more with leading scorer Donovan Mitchell sidelined for rest, said Hunter's performance didn't surprise him. "That's why we traded for him," Jerome said. For the second game in a row, the Cavs came back from a huge deficit to win. They trailed by 22 points in Boston on Friday before staging the season's largest comeback victory. Hunter said that shows Cleveland's resiliency. "In the future, though, we can't let that happen and get off to those slow starts," he said. Not that Jerome ever thought the Cavs were out of it. "It's a 48-minute game for a reason," Jerome said. "Eighteen points are nothing in this league." The Cavs also got 20 points and eight rebounds from Evan Mobley before fouling out in the fourth quarter and 14 points, nine rebounds and two steals from Max Strus. Strus said his teammates believe in one another. "That creates confidence in each other," he said. "We have a belief in each other. We're never out of it. We believe we can win every single game." They also believe in Strus, who they're starting to call "Wild Thing." "It was the perfect Max game," Atkinson said. "It was chaotic. He thrives in games like that. He was foaming at the mouth. His corner three (late in the fourth quarter) was the biggest shot of the game." The Trail Blazers put up an impressive fight and had the Cavs on their heels throughout the game. "They got us out of our comfort zone," Strus said. Atkinson said that was because the Trail Blazers went small. "Teams like this downsize," he said. "They have five guards out there. They forced us into a small-ball game. "It's like college. They pick you up full court the whole team. They tried to wear down D.G. (Darius Garland). They give you headaches." Forward Deni Avdija had a triple-double with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the Trail Blazers (27-34), while guard Anfernee Simons added 27 points. Simons made two free throws with 1.2 seconds left to send the game into overtime tied at 119. Garland had a chance to wrap up the game in regulation but missed a free throw with 8.7 seconds left. Instead of giving the Cavs a three-point lead, the Blazers trailed by just two, which set up Simons' late heroics. On a night when the Cavs needed the All-Star version of Garland, he had one of his worst games of the season. He finished with 13 points and seven assists, but was 4-of-16 from the field and just 2-of-7 from three. The Cavs were abysmal early and trailed 54-42 at halftime after Portland closed the second quarter on a 15-0 run. They finally made it a game with a 22-5 run, including 13 in a row, to pull within 94-93 with 8:11 left in the fourth quarter. And then there were the officials, who the Cavs didn't exactly see eye-to-eye with as the two technical fouls they were hit with attest. The teams combined to shoot 70 foul shots. "The refs were really bad," Jerome said. "They lost control of the game. The first half was ridiculous." Tomlin signed The Cavs signed forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin to a two-way contract and waived forward JT Thor. The 6-8, 205-pound Tomlin signed a 10-day contract with the team Feb. 10 and appeared in three games. Tomlin appeared in 37 games this season for the G League Cleveland Charge and averaged 15.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 blocks. A native of Harlem, New York, Tomlin went undrafted after his college days at Memphis. Thor was signed as a two-way player Sept. 9 and appeared in nine games this season for the Cavs. "He has a lot of talent," Atkinson said. "He'll land on his feet. It's never an easy decision." The coach said Cleveland's front office watched Tomlin intently in the G League. After being signed with the Cavs, he was impressive right off the bat. The coach likes his energy and said he plays extremely hard. Mitchell sits The Cavs decided to sit guard Mitchell with a planned day off. With 16 games in 29 days this month, they want to keep him healthy for the playoffs. Playoff clincher The Cavs are the first team to clinch a playoff spot this season. "We didn't celebrate it or even talk about it," Atkinson said. "We have bigger things to come." Cleveland has the best record in the league and would like to hold onto it. "We are aware," Atkinson said. "It's not been a topic of conversation." Good production The Cavs' bench was a combined plus-92 against the Celtics on Friday. The bench play was one of the reasons for the come-from-behind win over the defending champs. Atkinson said the win the Cavs "more confidence." "It helps," he said. "We can go toe-to-toe with them. If we face them in the playoffs, we know it will be a tough series." Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X. Cavaliers 133, Trail Blazers 129 (OT) PORTLAND (129): Avdija 8-13 13-13 30, Camara 7-11 2-2 19, Clingan 1-2 2-4 4, Sharpe 7-20 3-3 18, Simons 8-23 7-7 27, Banton 3-5 0-0 7, Murray 0-3 0-0 0, Walker 1-2 0-0 2, Reath 2-5 2-2 7, Henderson 5-12 2-4 15. Totals 42-96 31-35 129. CLEVELAND (133): Hunter 8-15 11-12 32, Mobley 6-14 7-10 20, Allen 5-7 2-2 12, Garland 4-16 3-4 13, Strus 5-15 0-0 14, Wade 2-3 0-0 5, Jerome 8-17 7-7 25, Okoro 1-3 0-0 3, Merrill 3-7 0-0 9, Porter Jr. 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 42-97 30-35 133. Portland&emsp; 27&emsp;27&emsp;35&emsp;30&emsp;10&emsp;—&emsp;129Cleveland&emsp;24&emsp;18&emsp;37&emsp;40&emsp;14&emsp;—&emsp;1333-Point Goals—Portland 14-40 (Simons 4-12, Camara 3-5, Henderson 3-5, Avdija 1-3, Banton 1-3, Reath 1-4, Sharpe 1-6, Murray 0-1, Walker 0-1), Cleveland 19-46 (Hunter 5-9, Strus 4-11, Merrill 3-7, Jerome 2-4, Garland 2-7, Wade 1-2, Mobley 1-3, Okoro 1-3). Fouled Out—Portland 1 (Clingan), Cleveland 1 (Mobley). Rebounds—Portland 46 (Avdija 12), Cleveland 47 (Allen 10). Assists—Portland 25 (Avdija 10), Cleveland 27 (Garland 7). Total Fouls—Portland 26, Cleveland 27. A—19,432 (19,432)