Rondo played
After LeBron James left, the Cleveland Cavaliers finally saw the hope of the playoffs, but injuries followed, Andxton and Rubio were reimbursed for the season, and in this case, the Cavaliers could only get Rajan Rondo from the Lakers. However, due to health and safety agreements, Rondo's debut for the Cavaliers has not arrived. In this game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Rondo finally lifted the quarantine and finally made his debut for the Cavaliers.
The Blazers' performance this season has been disappointing, and when Lillard and McCollum could not play, Simmons Jr. played a brilliant performance. For the Cavaliers, there is no doubt that the focus of defense is needed, and it can be said that as long as Simmons Jr. is limited, then this game will not have much suspense.
The course of the game
The Cavaliers' first quarter was not ideal, with Mobley scoring 6 points and 2 rebounds on 2-of-5 shooting, Garland on 2-of-7 shooting with 5 points and 1 rebound, and the team only scored 24 points in a single quarter, but it was still the leading side. The Trail Blazers scored just 21 points in the first quarter, including Powell with 6 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. After returning from the second quarter, the Cavaliers found their offensive feel, Garland had 11 points and 3 assists on 4-of-4 shooting, Rondo also had 8 points and 1 rebound, and the Cavaliers scored 33 points in the quarter, leading the Blazers by 10 points at the end of the half 57-47.
The trend of the first half basically reflects the gap between the strength of the two teams, but who can think that the second half is easy to fight again, Covington suddenly broke out, three-point shots 6 shots 4, single quarter to get 12 points and 4 rebounds, Simmons also had 5 points and 5 assists, Powell also hit 2 three-pointers, the Blazers bombed 31 points in a single quarter, successfully narrowed the point difference to 4 points, and the suspense of the game came back. In the final quarter of the game, Osman became a Surpriser, hitting three consecutive three-pointers, once again widening the point difference to double digits.
The Trail Blazers kept chasing, and after hitting consecutive three-point shots, the point difference returned to 5 points, but the Cavaliers instantly played a wave of 8-0 small climax, and Simmons Jr. still had three points, but the point difference was still 10 points. Garland immediately responded with three points, and finally the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Portland Blazers 114-101, refusing to lose consecutively while giving the Blazers 2 consecutive losses.
Amazing debut
In such a game, the Cavaliers can be said to win without suspense, Garland had 26 points, 1 rebound and 6 assists, 8 of 5 three-pointers, Allen was 13 points and 13 rebounds, Markkanen 15 points and 5 assists, Mobley 18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks, Osman 14 points and 3 rebounds, Rondo 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, the team scored 6 in double figures, and only 8 turnovers. Rondo, in particular, played only 16 minutes in his first game with the Cavaliers, but still wowed the crowd.
With 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in 16 minutes, such Rondo can still help the team. Riding Long Dongqiang, this sentence has once again been confirmed. On the Blazers side, Powell had 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, Covington hit 5 three-pointers and had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocks, Nurkic had 14 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, and Simmons had 14 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists. Without Lillard and McCollum, the Blazers are already commendable for playing like this.