Cavs rally to beat Blazers in OT for 10th straight NBA victory

LOS ANGELES: The Cleveland Cavaliers erased an 18-point deficit to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 133-129 in an NBA overtime thriller and boost their league-best record with a 10th straight victory Sunday, as Boston defeated Denver in a clash of the past two champions.

De’Andre Hunter, getting a starting nod as Cavs star Donovan Mitchell rested, scored 18 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as Cleveland poured it on late to grab their 50th win of the season against 10 defeats.

“Made open shots, tried to get to the rim and get fouled,” Hunter said of his late-game heroics, which saw him give Cleveland the lead for good with a three-pointer that put them up 131-129 with 30.8 seconds remaining in overtime.

Hunter, acquired from Atlanta at the trade deadline, then came up with a steal and grabbed a rebound when Portland’s Deni Avdija missed a three-pointer. Finally Hunter drilled a pair of free-throws to seal the win.

“He carried us in every way,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “No way we get this win without him.”

Avdija led Portland with 30 points and added 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double. Anfernee Simons scored 27 points for the Blazers, who led most of the first half in pursuit of a fifth straight win.

After Cleveland edged ahead 42-39 on Darius Garland’s jump shot, Portland closed the first half on a 15-0 scoring run that sent them into the locker room leading 54-42.

The Cavs pulled level at 101-101 with 5:43 left in the fourth quarter, and they traded the lead three more times before Simons made a pair of free-throws that tied it at 119-119 to send it to overtime.

In Boston, the Celtics let a big lead get away before holding off the Nuggets