Portland Trail Blazers (39-29) 111, Cavaliers (13-54) 70

   at Rose Garden Arena, Portland, Ore.

   What happened:

   It was early in the fourth quarter of Thursday's all-to-wall mismatch, and Cavs  TV analyst Austin Carr perfectly (if disgustedly) summed up what was happening on the floor.

   "This is puzzling,'' Carr said. "I thought they had games like this out of their system.''

   No, A.C. apparently they did not.

   One night after playng well in a rare road victory at Sacramento, the Cavs were putrid from the get-go. Portland raced to a 24-2 lead in the first quarter and toyed with the Cas the rest of the way.

   The return of veteran guard Baron Davis to the Cavs made no difference whatsoever as they played like a team with neither a clue nor much talent.

    This season-long nightmare can't end soon enough for the Cavs and beleaguered first-year coach Byron Scott,

   David S. Glasier