Randolph, Portland edge slumping Cleveland

Ruben Patterson compiled 16 points and seven rebounds while rookie Jarrett Jack contributed 11 points off the bench to help the Trail Blazers match a season-best with their third consecutive victory.

Cleveland’s LeBron James topped all players with 29 points, but only seven of them came after halftime. The All-Star guard added 13 rebounds in the loss, the Cavaliers’ fourth in a row.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas netted 27 points on 10-of-11 shooting for Cleveland, which rallied from an 11-point deficit early in the final quarter before faltering down the stretch.

Portland built an 80-70 lead after Randolph ended a 9-3 run to start the fourth quarter by draining an outside jumper. That basket, which came with 8:52 left to play, would be Portland’s last until nearly the two-minute mark.

The shooting drought allowed the Cavs to climb back. After Alan Henderson drove the lane and scored to bring the visitors within one, James buried a three-pointer with 3:10 left to put Cleveland up 84-83.

Portland’s Juan Dixon then buried a triple a minute later to send the Blazers back in front, but Ilgauskas scored on the other end to tie the game at 86-86.

Randolph drew a foul from Henderson with 47 seconds left and made both shots to break the tie, but Patterson hacked Eric Snow shortly afterward. Snow, however, made just 1-of-2 from the line.

Neither team made a field goal over the final seconds. Patterson gave Cleveland a chance when he made just 1-of-2 free throws with 15 seconds to go, but Snow misfired a 21-footer at the final buzzer.

An 8-0 run late in the first half, capped by back-to-back baskets by Patterson, gave Portland a seven-point lead with under a minute to go before intermission. Cleveland cut its deficit to 51-46 at the half when Damon Jones knocked down a jumper right before the buzzer.

The game remained tight during the third quarter. The Cavaliers opened the second half with a 13-2 burst, with Ilgauskas recording six of those points, to build a 59-53 advantage, but went cold over the final five minutes of the frame.

Trailing 64-60, Patterson hit a short jumper and Dixon converted a three-point play to send Portland in front with 4:16 left in the third. The baskets began an 11-2 run that gave the Blazers a 71-66 lead late in the period.

James poured in 18 first-quarter points and the Cavs held a 30-27 edge at the period’s end. However, the Trail Blazers started out the second strongly and took a 36-35 lead when Jack fed Patterson for a transition basket. A three- pointer by Sebastian Telfair less than four minutes into the frame extended the margin to four.

James made 7-of-10 field goal attempts over the first 12 minutes but went just 3-of-16 the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Portland also won three straight from December 23-28...James is averaging 34.7 points during the Cavaliers’ current slide...Cleveland is 0-3 on its current five-game road trip and is 6-10 away from home this year...Dixon finished with 10 points and has reached double figures in each of his last 14 games...Cleveland has lost in six of its last seven visits to the Rose Garden.