CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell heard the boos directed at him and his teammates as the game slipped away in the fourth quarter.
He felt they were warranted.
“If you don’t play well,” Mitchell said, “that’s what you get.”
Cleveland had a major letdown following a solid win with its worst loss this season, 103-95 on Thursday night to the Portland Trail Blazers, who pulled off their second impressive road victory this week.
Shaedon Sharpe scored 29 points, rookie Duop Reath added a season-high 13 and Jabari Walker had 12 rebounds for Portland, which came in just 5-12 overall and 3-7 away from home. On Monday, the Blazers won 114-110 at Indiana.
The Cavs may have been a little overconfident after playing so well in a 23-point win over Atlanta on Tuesday in the NBA’s In-Season Tournament. But whatever momentum Cleveland built, in what has been an up-and-down season so far, is gone.