CLEVELAND: Kevin Love spent most of the Cavaliers’ lengthy break relaxing and staying off his feet. His performance Wednesday may have earned him some more time off.
Love made eight 3-pointers and scored 34 points in the first quarter, setting franchise records for both, in the Cavs’ 137-125 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Love finished with 40 points and eight rebounds — his first 40-point game in Cleveland — after making his first seven shots Wednesday, including six 3-pointers. LeBron James had 31 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his 44th career triple-double.
James took over sole possession of sixth place on the league’s all-time list for most career triple-doubles, but the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook is lurking just two behind him.
Damian Lillard scored 40 points, passed for 11 assists and grabbed seven rebounds for the Trail Blazers, but was overshadowed by Love’s finest performance as a Cavalier.
Love’s first-quarter outburst was the second-most points ever scored by a player in the NBA, trailing only the 37 scored by the Warriors’ Klay Thompson in the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings two seasons ago. It allowed the Cavs to set the NBA record for most 3-pointers in a half (16) and to tie franchise records for points in a quarter (46) and 3-pointers in a regular-season game (21).
Love’s breakout game was his first 40-point game since April 14, 2014, which was his second-to-last game with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
James held the previous team mark for points in a quarter with 24, which he set on three different occasions. Love had surpassed his season-high of 27 points about eight minutes into the game, although he still fell shy of his career-high of 51.
Wednesday marked the Cavs’ first game in five days, although they showed no rust despite the long layoff. They made their first nine shots as a team Wednesday and never trailed. They led by double digits 3½ minutes into the game, thanks to Love, and the Blazers never threatened despite Lillard’s best effort. Twenty-five of his 40 came in the second half.
Lillard and Irving have staged terrific scoring battles in the past and did again Wednesday. Irving scored 20 points and passed for six assists, meaning Lillard got the better of the individual battle, but Irving’s team won.
“I love it. It’s good for the game,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said of the Irving-Lillard matchup before the game. “It’s good for our team. But our thing is, you want to take that challenge but also you want to do it in a team frame, the team mindset of what we’ve been trying to do. And Kyrie’s been doing a great job of that since I’ve taken over.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.