Cavalier approach works out against Trail Blazers thanks to former Virginia teammates De'Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome

CLEVELAND — De'Andre Hunter brought the Cavaliers out of the abyss. Trailing by 18 points in the second half, Cleveland posted a come-from-behind 133-129 overtime victory over the pesky Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday at Rocket Arena. The win was the Cavs' 10th in a row and 14th in the last 15 games. They are the first team in the NBA to reach 50 wins, the 13th time they've accomplished that in team history. Making his first start since being traded to Cleveland on Feb. 6, Hunter scored a game-high 32 points (9 in overtime) and added seven rebounds. He connected on 8-of-15 field goals, including 5-of-9 3-pointers. Cleveland (50-10) is now 8-0 with Hunter in the lineup. "He carried us in every way," Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. "There's no way we get this done without him." Hunter's college teammate at the University of Virginia, Ty Jerome, wasn't too bad, either. He came off the bench to amass 25 points, five rebounds, six assists and a career-high six steals. "We needed his ballhandling, moxie and grit," Atkinson said. "He was phenomenal. He's playing great basketball." Jerome he had the ball in his hands more with leading scorer Donovan Mitchell sidelined to rest and said that Hunter's performance didn't surprise him."That's why we traded for him," Jerome said. For the second game in a row, the Cavs came back from a huge deficit to win. They trailed by 22 points in Boston on Friday before staging the season's largest comeback victory. Hunter said that shows Cleveland's resiliency. "In the future, though, we can't let that happen and get off to those slow starts," he said. Big comebacks are nothing new in the NBA. "It's a 48-minute game for a reason," Jerome said. "Eighteen points are nothing in this league." Sparkplug Max Strus, who added 14 points, nine rebounds and two steals, said his teammates believe in each other. "That creates confidence in each other," he said. "We have a belief in each other. We're never out of it. We believe we can win every single game."The players are starting to call Strus "Wild Thing." "It was the perfect Max game," Atkinson said. "It was chaotic. He thrives in games like that. He was foaming at the mouth. His corner three (late in the fourth quarter) was the biggest shot of the game." The Cleveland players were impressed with Portland's unique style. "They got us out of our comfort zone," Strus said. Jerome said the Trail Blazers "present different challenges in how they spread you out." Atkinson said Portland went small, which caused the Cavs' problems. "Teams like this downsize," he said. "They have five guards out there. They forced us into a small ball game. "It's like college. They pick you up full court the whole team. They tried to wear down D.G. (Darius Garland). They give you headaches." Forward Deni Avdija finished with a triple-double with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the Trail Blazers (27-34), while guard Anfernee Simons added 27 points. Simons buried two free throws with 1.2 seconds left to send the game into overtime tied at 119. Garland had a chance to wrap up the game in regulation but missed a free throw with 8.7 seconds left. Instead of giving the Cavs a three-point lead, the Blazers trailed by just two, which set up Simons' late heroics. The Cavs embarked on a 22-5 run, including 13 in a row, to pull to 94-93 with 8:11 left in the fourth quarter. Cleveland was abysmal in the first half, as they trailed 54-42 at the intermission after Portland ended the second quarter on a 15-0 run. Garland's basket with 4:34 left in the first half handed Cleveland a 42-39 advantage, but the Cavs didn't score again in the first half. On a night when they needed the All-Star version of Garland, instead he had one of his worst games of the season. He finished with 13 points and seven assists, but was 4-for-16 from the field, including 2-for-7 from behind the arc. The Cavs were upset with the officials. The two teams shot a combined 70 foul shots. "The refs were really bad," Jerome said. "They lost control of the game. The first half was ridiculous." Cleveland power forward Evan Mobley had 20 points and eight rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Tomlin signed The Cavs signed forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin to a two-way contract and waived forward J.T Thor. The 6-8, 205-pound Tomlin signed a 10-day contract with the team on Feb. 10 and appeared in three games with the Cavs. Tomlin appeared in 37 games this season for the G League Cleveland Charge and averaged 15.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 blocks. A native of Harlem, N.Y., Tomlin went undrafted after playing collegiately at Memphis. Thor appeared in nine games this season for the Cavs and was signed as a two-way player on Sept. 9. "He has a lot of talent," Atkinson said. "He'll land on his feet. It's never an easy decision." The coach said Cleveland's front office watched Tomlin intently in the G League. After being signed with the Cavs, he was impressive right off the bat. The coach likes his energy and he plays extremely hard. Donovan sits The Cavs decided to sit guard Mitchell in Sunday's game in a planned day off. With 16 games in 29 days in the month of March, they want to keep him healthy for the playoffs. Playoff clincher The Cavs are the first team in the NBA to clinch a playoff spot. "We didn't celebrate it or even talk about it," Atkinson said. "We have bigger things to come." Cleveland currently has the best record in the league and would like to hold onto it. "We are aware," Atkinson said. "It's not been a topic of conversation." Good production The Cavs' bench was a combined plus-92 in the Boston game on Friday. The bench play was one of the reasons for the come-from-behind win over the defending champ. Atkinson said the victory over the Celtics gives the Cavs "more confidence." "It helps," he said. "We can go toe-to-toe with them. If we face them in the playoffs, we know it will be a tough series." Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.