Cavaliers desperate for victory in matchup with Trail Blazers

Portland (20-44) at Cleveland (36-29) 7:30 pm EST

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers have been struggling offensively, but they will not be receiving any sympathy cards from the Portland Trail Blazers.

The fading Cavaliers look to stay afloat in the Eastern Conference playoff race Friday when they hook up with the struggling Trail Blazers for the second time this season.

Cleveland endured a painful late-season collapse en route to missing the playoffs last year and has rekindled some of those memories of late.

The Cavaliers have dropped three straight games - averaging 84.0 points in that stretch - following Tuesday's 91-87 defeat vs. Dallas in which they scored a season-low eight points in the third quarter.

LeBron James collected 36 points and 12 rebounds and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 17 and 13 for Cleveland, which sits in fourth-place in the standings, two games ahead of Washington.

The Cavaliers look to get their four-game road trip off to a good start against a Trail Blazers team that is only 6-27 away from home this season.

Portland managed a franchise record-low five points in the fourth quarter in its ugly 78-65 loss to New Jersey on Wednesday. Zach Randolph scored 24 points to lead the Trail Blazers, who somehow managed to regress offensively from Tuesday's 95-66 setback to Chicago.

The Blazers recorded an 89-87 triumph over the Cavaliers on January 15 to snap a three-game losing streak in the series.