This Week In Cavs History: Kevin Love's 34-Point First-Quarter Explosion

Throughout the 2023-24 NBA season, Spencer Davies is going to turn back the clock to milestone moments and important dates in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ past. Whether they’ve been good, bad or sad, these events were significant in the franchise’s 53-year existence.

During his eight-and-a-half seasons with the Cavs, Kevin Love had many memorable moments with the wine-and-gold. From his three-quarters-court launch passes, to his knack for securing big time rebounds and, of course, the most important defensive stop in team history in the 2016 NBA Finals.

But when he faced off against his hometown team in the Portland Trail Blazers seven years ago, Love not only set a new record for the Cavs, but for the NBA itself.

In the first quarter, Love scored 34 — yes, thirty-four — points. He went a ridiculous 11-for-14 from the field, knocking down eight threes out of 10 attempts. The Blazers had no idea how to slow him down.

They started out with Mason Plumlee as his primary defender, which led to not-so-good results. Love was making the whole team pay in pick-and-pop with Kyrie Irving to the wings and for doubling LeBron James a little too closely.

Tristan Thompson was setting screens to free him above the break just enough to fire away. Love snuck to the corners too, which you would think Portland wouldn't lose him after a 5-for-5 start from the floor.

And once Love had his way from deep, the Cavs started looking for him on the block to finish, and he nailed a fadeaway baseline jumper and a short mid-ranger over the top to make it a 34-point outburst.

Ironically, Love finished with only 40 points in the game overall in the 137-125 win over Portland.

With that unheard of performance in the first frame, Love passed Stephen Curry's previous record of 25 points on Feb. 3, 2016. No other player has touched Love's record since that game against Portland. (Luka Doncic is the next closest with 28 points in the first quarter on Feb. 10, 2022 against the Los Angeles Clippers.)

Love also holds the most points in a quarter scored overall in Cavs history because of that incredible night.

Cleveland's previous first-quarter franchise high, unsurprisingly, was set by LeBron, who scored 24 in a quarter on the road against the Chicago Bulls on April 11, 2008.