Cavaliers wasted masterclass from Evan Mobley against Trail Blazers

The Cleveland Cavaliers had their chance to build momentum with a potential statement against the Portland Trail Blazers, a team struggling to find their footing.

But when the dust settled, the final buzzer sounded, the Trail Blazers came away with a 122-110 win and for the Cavs, it was like their previous victory against the Indiana Pacers seemed like it could have been a one-off, given the form that they are in, as they slumped to their fourth loss in the last five.

And playing against a Portland team struggling in most areas of the court, most notably the three-point line, where they were tied for the worst percentage in the NBA with the Pacers, the Cavaliers’ defense made them look like a league-leader. They were 14-for-34 overall and 6-for-10 in the third quarter.

There was energy and drive on the defensive end from the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Evan Mobley, but head coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t see that from the others.

“Defensively, we weren’t very good. We were really good with Evan on the floor. Evan was phenomenal tonight; that’s the Defensive Player of the Year. He literally held this ship together,” Atkinson said afterwards.

Mobley would finish with 23 points and 10 rebounds, going 8-for-14 from the field, but he was stellar defensively.

However, the team cohesion on that end wasn’t there, as they let the Trail Blazers shoot 41 percent from three and 34-for-39 from the foul line, while Cleveland went just 25 percent from range and 21-for-24 from the stripe, good numbers from free throws, but not at the volume that Portland was going.

“We got some guys struggling right now,” Atkinson said.

"Five, six, seven [plays], I would have loved to have gone for lay-ups or drive it. So we’re going to have to keep showing them, this is where we can drive it, when we run in transition, don’t run to the corner, run for a lay-up.

“I’m not saying [it’s all] 12 of them, but we’re jacking three’s when we can do better, we can get a better shot."

While Atkinson didn’t single out Mobley for praise on the Cavs’ three-pointers in his postgame press conference, his shot selection all night long was smart, and he took the right shot each time.

Mobley went 3-for-7 from three-point range, while players struggled. Donovan Mitchell, who led the way with 33 points, shot 3-for-13 from deep. Darius Garland was 2-for-13 from the floor and 1-for-8 from beyond the arc.

From so much hope and positivity going in, it ends with Cleveland dropping back into a seemingly familiar tale, with their first loss to a team with a losing record. Portland now moves to 9-13, while the Cavs slip to 13-10.