Kevin Love scored 40 points, including an NBA-record 34 in the first quarter, LeBron James recorded his 44th career triple-double, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 137-125 on Wednesday night.
Cleveland also set a franchise with 20 3-pointers and showed no signs of being rusty in its first game since Friday.
Love fell three points shy of the league record for points in any quarter, set by Golden State's Klay Thompson, who scored 37 in the third on Jan. 23, 2015.
Love, who set a team record for points in a period, made 11 of 14 field goal attempts, including 8 of 10 on 3-pointers in the first quarter. He made his first six shots with five 3-pointers.
James had 31 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists for his second triple-double this season. He also passed Guy Rodgers for 17th place on the career assist list.
Damian Lillard scored 40 points for Portland, including 25 in the second half.
Cleveland, which made its first nine 3-pointers, led 46-31 after one quarter and scored 81 points in the first half, two short of the franchise record.
Love missed his only shot in a scoreless second quarter, scored six points in the third and was scoreless again in the fourth. He made 12 of 20 shots, including 8 of 12 3-pointers.
Love recorded his first 40-point game since April 14, 2014, with Minnesota. He scored a career-high 51 points while playing for the Timberwolves on March 23, 2012.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Portland finished 1-4 on a five-game road trip. ... F Al-Farouq Aminu (left calf strain) missed his ninth straight game. Coach Terry Stotts said there is no update on his status. . Stotts has 190 victories with Portland, tying him with Mike Dunleavy for fourth place in team history.
Cavaliers: Love's highest-scoring game with Cleveland was 34, which came on Nov. 23, 2015, against Orlando. ...Cleveland's record for points in a half is 83, set on Jan. 15, 1993. ... Tristan Thompson and Portland's Maurice Harkless received double technical fouls after getting tied up under the basket in the second quarter.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Host New Orleans on Friday, beginning a four-game, nine-day homestand. Portland is 4-3 at Moda Center this season.
Cavaliers: Host Dallas on Friday. Love averaged 19.0 points and 14.5 rebounds in two games against the Mavericks last season.
