Cavs fall to Trail Blazers; fourth loss in last five games

CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers didn't suffer their 10th loss last season until Feb. 4. Cleveland dropped to 13-10 on the season Wednesday after its 122-110 defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers at Rocket Arena. The Cavs have lost four of their last five games. It would be easy to blame the inconsistencies on their injuries, but the problems are much deeper. Their defense has taken a major step backward and their rebounding is borderline embarrassing. "We've slipped on defense," Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. "We're missing shots, and it's affecting our defense. We have to be more resilient when missing shots." Six-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 33 points while adding five rebounds and five assists. Evan Mobley, playing center with Jarrett Allen out, was a force on the defensive end while finishing with 23 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and a season-high five blocks. Still, the Cavs gave up 122 points. "Our defense was not very good," Atkinson said. "We were really good with Evan on the floor. It was a defensive player of the year performance. He held the ship to give us a chance." The Cavs trailed 99-85 after three quarters and cut their deficit to 113-108 on Mobley's basket with 2:37 to play, but they couldn't get any closer against the upstart Trail Blazers (9-13). Cleveland backup big man Thomas Bryant came off the bench for a season-high 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks. One of his rejections was a dunk attempt by Portland's Jerami Grant. Bryant was 3-of-4 from behind the arc, which stood out in this game for Cleveland. The Cavs were 13-of-52 from the 3-point line. Starting point guard Darius Garland finished with six points on 2-of-13 from the field, including 1-of-8 from the 3-point line. Backup point guard Lonzo Ball was just as bad, as he made 1-of-9 from the field and 1-of-8 from deep. "We can get better shots," Atkinson said. "We've got some guys struggling (from long distance)." There doesn't seem to be any help on the way in the short term, as shooting guard Sam Merrill remains out of the lineup with a sprained right hand. He's missed the last eight games. "I'd put him and (Allen) in the same bucket," Atkinson said. "Neither of them has had a setback. You need hands to catch the ball. I can't throw those guys out there under these conditions." Mitchell agreed. "It's a group thing," he said. "We'll get there. We'll fix it. We have time to fix it. It's upsetting, but there's room for growth." Guard Deni Avdija paced Portland with 27 points, while Shaedon Sharpe and Caleb Love each added 20 points off the bench. Donovan Clingan, a 7-3, 280-pound center, had a game-high 13 rebounds. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.