Trail Blazers 105, Cavaliers 76
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Allen Crabbe scored 21 of his career-high 26 points in the first half and the Portland Trail Blazers blew away the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-76 on Saturday night at the Moda Center.
Guard CJ McCollum had 16 points and six assists for Portland (12-20), which ended a five-game losing streak. Forward Meyers Leonard had 13 points, five rebounds and four assists and center Mason Plumlee collected 11 points, 14 rebounds and four assists for the Trail Blazers.
Forward LeBron James led Cleveland (19-9) with 12 points, five assists and four rebounds.
The Cavaliers shot 36.4 percent from the field a night after hitting just 31.6 percent in an 89-83 loss at Golden State.
Portland led throughout except in the game's first minute. The difference was 29 points at halftime and the Blazers were in front by 34 points late in the game.
Crabbe had 21 points to stake Portland to a 63-34 halftime lead. The Blazers were 25 of 50 (.500) from the field and the Cavaliers made only 12 of 39 from the floor (.308) in the half.
Portland's lead was 78-46 after a McCollum free throw midway through the third quarter. Cleveland coach David Blatt soon removed his starters and they did not return.
Portland got off to a 13-4 lead, with McCollum (seven) and Crabbe (six) combining for all the points. The Blazers hiked the margin to 34-12 after one quarter as Cleveland made only 5 of 20 from the field and committed seven turnovers.
The Blazers increased the difference to 40-16 before the Cavaliers answered with an 8-0 spurt that cut the gap to 40-24. It was as close as they came the rest of the way. Portland responded with an 11-0 run for a 51-24 advantage.
NOTES: Both teams were without an All-Star point guard. Portland's Damian Lillard missed his third straight game with plantar fasciitis and Cleveland's Kyrie Irving sat out the game to rest his surgically repaired knee in the second of back-to-back games. ... Portland entered the game having lost five in a row and eight of the last 10 games. Cleveland had won six in a row before an 89-83 loss at Golden State on Christmas Day. The Cavaliers shot a season-worst 16.7 percent from 3-point range (5 of 30) against the Warriors. "We got a lot of good shots that we just didn't make," Cleveland coach David Blatt said. "I don't feel we really have to correct. We have guys who can shoot the ball, and they have to shoot it." ... Blatt on Portland's third-year G C.J. McCollum, who is averaging 20.1 points per game: "He made a big jump and has played impressive basketball up to this point. Give the kid a lot of credit for that." ... The Blazers came in ranked fifth in the NBA in rebounding percentage (51.9) but next-to-last in turnovers (15.6 per game).