In a worthy rematch of their overtime game earlier this month, the Portland Trail Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers played another tight game Tuesday night. But Darius Garland made the difference, taking over in the fourth quarter and propelling the Cavs to a 122-111 victory on Blazer’s Edge’s annual Kids Night at Moda Center. Let’s dig in.
**Blazer of the Game: Donovan Clingan.** In a night where the Blazers featured an ensemble effort, it was Portland’s rookie that grabbed attention. He finished with 18 points, including 2-3 from downtown, with 12 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, and a block. Honorable mention to Scoot Henderson’s 18 points on 12 shots, and Deni Avdija filling the box score with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.
**Stat of the Night: The Cavs’ hot shooting.** Cleveland had few real issues with Portland’s defensive pressure. They shot 48-88 overall, 54.5%, as well as 44% from three. The Blazers’ 39.6% shooting just wasn’t enough, especially paired with an ugly 63.6% (14-22) from the free-throw line.
**What We’ll Remember: That the Cavs are really freakin’ good, and the Blazers still have a ways to go.** This was an absolutely professional win by Cleveland, who haven’t played two consecutive games in the same city for a full month ([see for yourself](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CLE/2025_games.html)). Even without Donovan Mitchell, they out-executed the Blazers all night, who had no real answers for such an elite effort.
**Standings Update: Good news for the idle Phoenix Suns.** The Blazers, Spurs, Kings, and Mavs all lost tonight, moving the Suns and Kings into a tie for the last two play-in spots in the West. Dallas is 0.5 games behind in 11th, and Portland and San Antonio are 3.5 games behind in 12th. Meanwhile, the Blazers, Spurs, Heat, and Bulls are now within 1 win of each other for spots 8-11 in the NBA Draft.
[Box Score](https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401705617)
**What’s Next: Stock up on beef jerky, it’s road trip time.** The Blazers fly off for their last big road trip of the season, starting Thursday night with a big game in Sacramento against the Kings.
Stay tuned tonight for more onsite coverage from beat reporter Conor Bergin, as well as a column from managing editor Dave Deckard.