BY: JASON MUSNI — SPORTS ON AIR — CORRESPONDENT
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers train just keeps on rolling.
De’Andre Hunter fired 32 points while Evan Mobley added 20 points and 8 rebounds and the best team in the NBA outlasted the Portland Trail Blazers in overtime, 133-129, on Sunday at the Rocket Arena.
Trailing by 18 points in the third quarter, the Cavaliers exploded for 40 points in the fourth quarter before going on a 14-10 spurt in the extra session to complete a huge comeback that capped their ten-game winning streak.
And they accomplished the feat without star guard Donovan Mitchell. Without the high-scoring All-Star, Ty Jerome picked up the slack with a huge effort from the bench with 25 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
As the Cavs rose to 50-10 in the overall standings, the shell-shocked Blazers fell to 28-34, outside of an outright playoff berth in the Western Conference but on pace for the play-in tournament.
Deni Avdija led the Blazers with 30 points while Anfernee Simons added 27, but Portland shot just 43.8 percent from the field overall (42-of-96).
Cleveland survived a game where 53 fouls and a combined 70 free throw attempts were made.
“There’s a lot of whistles out there today but I think we did a good job playing for it and not letting it affect our game plan,” Hunter told reporters.
“We have great referees in this league,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinso added. “I just thought tonight it wasn’t a great spectacle for the fans or for the media, for us as coaches. It just seemed like it was a constant stoppage.”
