PORTLAND, Ore. — Darius Garland had 26 points and Rajon Rondo scored 11 off the bench in his Cavaliers debut, leading Cleveland to a 114-101 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
It was the Cavaliers' 22nd win, matching their total for all of last season when they finished 13th in the Eastern Conference.
Rookie Evan Mobley added 18 points for Cleveland in the team's first victory in Portland since January 2013.
Norman Powell had 19 points for the Blazers, who have lost six of their last seven games.
The Cavaliers led much of the game, but Nassir Little's 3-pointer got Portland within 90-87 in the fourth quarter. Cedi Osman answered with a 3 for the Cavaliers. Little hit another 3 that narrowed it to 101-96 with 3:01 to go, but again Osman came back with a 3-pointer and the Blazers couldn't catch up.
Rondo made his first appearance with the Cavaliers after he was acquired in a three-team trade with the Lakers and Knicks earlier in the week. The 16-year NBA veteran came into the game with just over five minutes left in the opening quarter and his 3-pointer gave the Cavaliers a 22-16 lead.
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