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Lillard, Blazers shut down Cavs

Nov 5, 2014 - 7:56 AM Portland, OR (SportsNetwork.com) - Damian Lillard scored 27 points with seven assists and six rebounds to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a gritty 101-82 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Wesley Matthews finished with 21 points, while Robin Lopez and LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 and 16 points, respectively, in the win.

Portland, which snapped a two-game losing streak, has beaten the Cavs in seven of the last eight meetings in the series.

"When you are playing with as many talented scorers as I am, it's going to give you a lot of opportunities on the offensive end," said Lopez.

Kevin Love led Cleveland with 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds and LeBron James scored 11 points -- all in the first half.

Tristan Thompson chipped in 10 points and eight boards off the bench for the Cavs.

"I just don't think we brought intensity or any type of mindset to defend," Cavaliers head coach David Blatt said. "We were scoring, but we weren't making stops."

Despite the Cavs making their first 10 shot attempts from the floor, Portland did a nice job limiting their opponent to just 31-of-85 shooting for the game.

The Blazers led by five at halftime, then Aldridge scored six points and Lopez added four as part of a 12-4 run to open the third that gave the hosts a 67-54 lead.

Cleveland worked its way back into the contest, however, but still trailed 76-69 heading into the fourth.

Portland continued to lock down on defense in the final quarter and it turned the game into a rout.

Love's 3-pointer cut the deficit to 83-74 with under seven minutes to play. Lillard followed with a pair of free throws before finding Lopez for a hook shot in the lane. Matthews proceeded to make two at the line, then he drilled a trey for a 92-74 lead that all but sealed it for the Blazers.

Cleveland raced out to a 27-20 lead with under five minutes left in the first quarter because of its flawless start. James finished off the flurry with a pair of 3-pointers before Kyrie Irving gave the Cavs their first miss at 4:15.

Matthews followed James' last 3 with one of his own to jumpstart a 9-0 run for Portland, but Mike Miller's putback layup and Matthew Dellavedova's jumper at the buzzer helped Cleveland to a 34-31 lead after 12 minutes.

The Blazers strong defensive effort developed in the second quarter, as they held Cleveland to 9-of-34 shooting over the remainder of the half after its perfect start, taking a 55-50 lead at the break.

Game Notes

Love has double-doubles in each of Cleveland's first three games, becoming the first Cav to do so since Tyrone Hill in 2002-03 ... Portland shot 37-for-75 for the game ... James attempted just four shots in the second half ... Irving went 3-for-17 shooting and finished with nine points ... James has scored at least 10 points in 575 consecutive games, tying Karl Malone for the third- longest streak in NBA history ... Portland hasn't lost three of its first four games since the 2008-09 season.