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Cavs set single-season futility mark

Feb 6, 2011 - 5:10 AM Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - The Cleveland Cavaliers lost their 24th straight game -- a 111-105 defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night -- to set the NBA single-season record for most consecutive setbacks.

The Cavaliers passed the 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies and 1997-98 Denver Nuggets, who each lost 23 straight contests.

Cleveland, which hasn't won since a 109-102 overtime decision over New York on December 18, also tied its own NBA record for most defeats in a row. The Cavaliers also dropped 24 straight contests over the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons.

Just a year ago at this time, LeBron James was leading Cleveland to the NBA's best record for the second straight season. Obviously, things are a lot different this season with James in Miami.

"It's not a matter of if we're going to win, it's when. We've just got to keep playing that hard," Cavs head coach Byron Scott said.

Wesley Matthews had 31 points to pace the Blazers, who snapped a two-game skid. Nicolas Batum chipped in 21 points and seven rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge donated 20 points and 10 boards for Portland, which got 17 points from Rudy Fernandez.

Antawn Jamison finished with 17 points for the Cavaliers, who lost despite shooting 51.3 percent from the field. Ramon Sessions added 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Jamario Moon scored a season-high 14 points for Cleveland, which got 12 points apiece from Daniel Gibson, Manny Harris and Christian Eyenga.

The Cavs kept it close for a majority of the game. After trailing by three, 23-20, following 12 minutes of action, Cleveland took a 57-55 edge into the locker room.

Batum and Matthews made back-to-back three-pointers with over 3 1/2 minutes left in the third to give Portland a 76-73 lead. The Blazers held an 86-83 margin heading to the fourth.

With the score tied at 94 with less than eight minutes to play, Portland seemed to put the game away with an 11-1 run. Matthews made a pair of layups during the stretch, which Andre Miller capped with a jumper for a 105-95 lead with 4 1/2 minutes to go.

The Cavaliers ripped off seven straight points moments later to cut the gap to 107-105 on Sessions' layup with under 1 1/2 minutes remaining. But Miller stopped the bleeding with a jumper, and Cleveland missed its final four shots.

Fernandez made two free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory.

"We dropped two games on this road trip," Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said. "We knew we needed to play better and that we could play better. I thought we did that, that we were going to have to come out here and play the game."

Game Notes

The Cavs had won six straight over the Blazers. Portland snapped a seven-game slide in the Forest City...Cleveland has lost 15 straight against teams from the Western Conference...Portland center Dante Cunningham left the game with an eye injury during the first half and did not return...The Blazers shot 53.8 percent from the field...Gibson dished out a career-high nine assists...Miller ended with seven points and 13 assists.