Blazers History: Portland Wins By 50, Largest Victory in Franchise History

On this day 39 years ago, the Portland Trail Blazers did something they had never done in franchise history. Since that day, they still have not completed this feat.

On November 21, 1982, the Blazers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers by 50 points. Yes, 50.

The Blazers blitzed out to a 21-point lead in the first quarter, only allowing 15 Cavalier points. They repeated those efforts in the second quarter and led at halftime by 40.

The Blazers didn’t take their foot off the gas in the third quarter, pushing the lead to 54, but went in cruise control in the fourth quarter and ending up with 129 points, 50 more than the Cavaliers’ 79.

Seven Blazers finished in double figures and Jim Paxson led the way with 23 points.

The loss was the Cavs’ tenth of the season in their first 11 games, leading to a 23-win season. Meanwhile, the Blazers would take the momentum from this game all the way to the Western Conference Semifinals, where they would lose to the Los Angeles Lakers, who made it all the way to the NBA Finals, only to be swept by the Philadelphia 76ers.