Blazers pound Cavs for 11th in row

PORTLAND, Oregon – CJ McCollum scored 29 points and the Portland Trail Blazers won their NBA-best 11th straight game with a 113-105 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.

Damian Lillard added 24 points for the Blazers, on their longest run since also winning 11 in a row in 2013. It was the Blazers’ eighth straight win at home.

LeBron James had 35 points, including a highlight-reel dunk in the first quarter that had the fans at the Moda Center momentarily stunned. He also had 14 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double. Kyle Korver added 19 points.

The Blazers, currently sitting in third in the Western Conference standings, led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter. Portland kept the margin at double digits well into the final period, but James and George Hill made layups to get the Cavaliers within 105-99 with 3:25 to go.

In other results, Toronto repulsed Indiana, 106-99; Charlotte clobbered Atlanta, 129-117; Philadelphia ripped New York, 118-110; Chicago edged Memphis, 111-110; San Antonio defeated New Orleans, 98-93; Denver held off Detroit, 120-113; Utah ripped Phoenix, 116-88; and the Houston Rockets warded off the Los Angeles Clippers, 101-96.

Back in Portland, Hill’s 3-pointer pulled Cleveland within three points but Al-Farouq Aminu answered with a 3 and Evan Turner added a jumper to hold off Cleveland’s rally. Jordan Clarkson’s 3-pointer made it 110-105, but James missed a layup with 33 seconds left and Lillard made three free throws to seal it.