PHOENIX -- Strange things happen when the Cavaliers go to Portland, and for this team, that's saying something.

Over the past four seasons, no NBA team can rival the Cavs in drama. It's part of the LeBron James show. So is going to the Finals. Just part of the deal.

And though there are catalogues of memories from the past four seasons -- highlights and low, coaches trying to call timeouts when they don't have any in the playoffs, chasedown blocks with destiny on the line -- each of Cleveland's last three road games against the Portland Trail Blazers stand out because, each time, something weird happened. Beyond being blown out each time, by a combined 64 points.

"They play well at home, we know that for sure," said Cavs coach Tyronn Lue, whose team was to fly from Phoenix (where it beat the Suns Tuesday) to Portland mid-afternoon.

"And they've got two dynamic guards," Lue continued. "Coach (Terry) Stotts does a great job of moving them so you can't really lock into those two guys trying to blit them. Dame (Damian Lillard) is playing at a high level, so is (CJ) McCollum. So, they've got two guys who can really hurt you offensively, so if they've got it going it's going to be a tough night for you."

Well, sure.

Look, the Blazers are red hot, winners of 10 straight. Lillard, an All-Star, is leading the NBA during that stretch in total points (325) and 3s (44). He's scored at least 25 in six of his last eight games against the Cavs. McCollum, of GlenOak High, is having another fantastic season with 21.7 points per game and .423 shooting from 3-point range.

But the Cavaliers are three-time defending Eastern Conference champs. And they've won four out of the last six over the Blazers -- all in Cleveland, including a 127-110 win on Jan. 2 in Isaiah Thomas' first game for the Cavs.

So why does Cleveland continually get blown out up here in Portland? And why is each loss memorable?

There is no causal relationship between each blowout, really, but they're worth reliving just so everyone's on the lookout for something strange when the two teams meet Thursday at 10 p.m.

Our story begins on Nov. 4, 2014, in the third game James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love ever played together. The Blazers won, 101-82, in a game they trailed after the first quarter and were only ahead five at halftime.

James stood on the perimeter for most of the second half while Irving and Dion Waiters jacked up shot after shot, going a combined 6-of-28. James only took six shots after the first quarter and finished with 11 points -- none after halftime. It was his lowest regular-season point total since he scored 11 as a Cavalier back on Dec. 5, 2008.

But it wasn't by coincidence. James was willing to watch while the Cavs' young players who had never gone to the playoffs learned from their "bad habits" as he said afterwards.

In essence, James was willing to throw a game to prove a point.

"We were getting our ass whooped, and they felt like they could lead that charge to make the comeback and hit those home runs," said Tristan Thompson, one of three players left on the Cavs from that game. "They thought they could do it on their own and they realized they can't. It's a team effort. Playing on bad teams, when you're on a bad team and doing that stuff previously, you can get away with it because nobody expects you to win anyway. When you're on a team that's supposed to win or compete for a championship, and you don't play the right way, you're not going to have much success. It was one of those games where you've got to play the right way at all times."

James did not want to be interviewed for this story and at one point called the premise "whack," but he remembers the game.

The following season, the Cavs were crushed 105-76 on Dec. 26, 2015, in a game in which they trailed by as many as 34. The day before, on Christmas, Cleveland lost a close game to the Warriors, and most of the team was upset with coach David Blatt for his handling of the player rotation against Golden State.

So the Cavs basically laid down on him the next night in Portland. Thompson, as he was talking to cleveland.com for this story while James was protesting, reminded James of what happened in the 2015 game. James shot 4-of-13 and Love was 4-of-9, while Irving sat out because he wasn't allowed to play on consecutive nights.

Last season the Blazers won 102-86 in a game in which they led by as many as 24. Irving shot 4-of-16. There were no protests (so far as we could tell), but this one was weird because a once-in-a-century snowstorm for the Pacific northwest wreaked major havoc on both teams' travel plans.

The Cavs played the night before at Utah and lost, and their plane sat for two hours on the tarmac in Salt Lake City. When the team took off, its plane was headed for Seattle, with plans to drive by bus into Portland the day of the game and play.

In mid-flight, Portland's airport opened and the Cavs' plane turned around and landed there. Team personnel didn't know where they were when they awoke. Team buses braved the undrivable Portland roads and made it to the hotel around 4 a.m.

The Blazers, though, also played the night before and their plane couldn't land at home. They, in fact, did fly to Seattle and bused in, never making it to their homes and only getting into the city around 2 p.m.

"I do remember that," Lue said. "First they said we can't go and then we said 'OK we can fly into Seattle and then bus.' I forgot all about it, but of course you remember that."

Well, Ty, those who forget the past are bound to repeat it.