CLEVELAND _ There might not be anybody who enjoys seeing the Portland Trail Blazers on the upcoming schedule than Jordan Clarkson.
Last year, Clarkson averaged 20.5 points per game against the Trail Blazers. On Saturday night, he was much more lethal than that and continued to pour it in as the game wore on, leading the Cavs to a win, 110-104, at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Clarkson in the first half was quiet save for a short stretch in the second quarter in which he caught fire and came away with nine points in two and a half minutes.
It was the second half in which Clarkson seemed right at home against anything the Trail Blazers tried defensively. The Cavs built a steady lead in the third quarter, though the Trail Blazers' dynamic guard duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum kept it close and trimmed the lead to 73-69 with 7.5 seconds left in the quarter. That was until Clarkson nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to push it back out to a seven-point lead.
Clarkson followed that up with a 3-pointer in the first minute of the fourth, extending the Cavs' lead to double digits. The Trail Blazers (5-12) eventually chipped away and cut the lead to 90-84 behind back-to-back baskets by Anfernee Simmons.
But, again, Clarkson was there to torment Portland. Cedi Osman found Clarkson open for a 3-pointer at the top of the key, and Clarkson hit it, again giving the Cavs (5-11) some additional cushion.
Lillard led the Trail Blazers back to cut the lead to five, though he missed a key layup with under two minutes to go before Clarkson found Tristan Thompson under the basket for a thunderous dunk that put it out of reach.
Clarkson finished with a game-high 28 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He was a perfect 6 of 6 from behind the arc and hit 10 of 12 free-throw attempts. He also finished with three rebounds and three assists. Thompson added 25 points and nine rebounds. Collin Sexton had 18 points, extending his double-digit scoring streak this season to all 16 games, to go with four rebounds. Larry Nance Jr., who received the start with Kevin Love out with a back injury, totaled a double-double with 11 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.
Lillard finished with 23 points to lead the Trail Blazers while adding eight rebounds and eight assists. McCollum had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists.
