Game ID: 22300242
Los Angeles Lakers @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Saturday, November 25, 2023 at 7:30 PM ET
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 40 31 23 21 115LAL 35 35 23 28 121
CLE vs LAL ScoutingCLE vs LAL Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
CLE availability going into 11/17 · 1 day's restOUT Okoro missed 5 since 11/05, out tonight
BACK Merrill back 11/05 after 2, 2 min since (11% of 17)
BACK Porter Jr. back 11/11 after 3, 5 min since (36% of 13)
CLE availability going into 11/19 · 1 day's restOUT Okoro missed 6 since 11/05, out tonight
BACK Merrill back 11/13 after 2, 2 min since (10% of 17)
BACK Porter Jr. back 11/11 after 3, 7 min since (58% of 13)
CLE availability going into 11/21 · 1 day's restOUT Mitchell missed 2 since 11/17, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 7 since 11/05, out tonight
BACK Merrill back 11/13 after 2, 7 min since (43% of 17)
BACK Porter Jr. back 11/11 after 3, 11 min since (86% of 13)
CLE availability going into 11/22 · back-to-backOUT Mitchell missed 3 since 11/17, out tonight
OUT LeVert missed 2 since 11/19, returns tonight: 18 min (65% of 28)
OUT Okoro missed 8 since 11/05, out tonight
BACK Merrill back 11/13 after 2, 7 min since (41% of 17)
CLE availability going into 11/25 · 2 days' restOUT Mitchell missed 4 since 11/17, returns tonight: 35 min (98% of 36)
OUT Okoro missed 9 since 11/05, returns tonight: 18 min (70% of 26)
BACK LeVert back 11/22 after 2, 18 min since (65% of 28)
NEW Wade 20 to 27 min over the last 4
NEW Porter Jr. 13 to 22 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 11/26 · back-to-backOUT Wade missed 2 since 11/22, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 11/25 after 4, 35 min since (98% of 36)
BACK LeVert back 11/22 after 2, 22 min since (78% of 28)
BACK Okoro back 11/25 after 9, 18 min since (70% of 26)
NEW Porter Jr. 13 to 24 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 11/28 · 1 day's restOUT Wade missed 3 since 11/22, out tonight
OUT Merrill missed 2 since 11/25, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 11/25 after 4, 34 min since (96% of 36)
BACK LeVert back 11/22 after 2, 22 min since (78% of 28)
BACK Okoro back 11/25 after 9, 14 min since (54% of 26)
NEW Porter Jr. 13 to 26 min over the last 4
CLE availability going into 11/30 · 1 day's restOUT Wade missed 4 since 11/22, out tonight
OUT Merrill missed 3 since 11/25, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 11/25 after 4, 35 min since (97% of 36)
BACK LeVert back 11/22 after 2, 24 min since (84% of 28)
BACK Okoro back 11/25 after 9, 15 min since (56% of 26)
NEW Porter Jr. 13 to 21 min over the last 4
CLE availability going into 12/02 · 1 day's restOUT Wade missed 5 since 11/22, out tonight
OUT Merrill missed 4 since 11/25, returns tonight: 2 min (15% of 17)
OUT Thompson missed 2 since 11/28, returns tonight: 2 min (23% of 11)
BACK Mitchell back 11/25 after 4, 34 min since (96% of 36)
BACK LeVert back 11/22 after 2, 24 min since (86% of 28)
BACK Okoro back 11/25 after 9, 15 min since (58% of 26)
NEW Porter Jr. 13 to 18 min over the last 3
LAL availability going into 11/17 · 1 day's restOUT Vincent missed 8 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Hachimura back 11/08 after 4, 24 min since (89% of 27)
BACK Hayes back 11/10 after 2, 12 min since (95% of 12)
NEW Reddish 20 to 29 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 11/19 · 1 day's restOUT Vincent missed 9 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Hayes back 11/10 after 2, 11 min since (90% of 12)
NEW Reddish 20 to 31 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 11/21 · 1 day's restOUT Vincent missed 10 since 11/01, out tonight
NEW Reddish 20 to 33 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 11/22 · back-to-backOUT Vanderbilt missed 2 since 11/19, out tonight
OUT Vincent missed 11 since 11/01, out tonight
NEW Reddish 20 to 26 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 11/25 · 2 days' restOUT Vanderbilt missed 3 since 11/19, out tonight
OUT Vincent missed 12 since 11/01, out tonight
NEW Reddish 20 to 27 min over the last 4
LAL availability going into 11/27 · 1 day's restOUT Reddish missed 2 since 11/22, out tonight
OUT Vanderbilt missed 4 since 11/19, out tonight
OUT Vincent missed 13 since 11/01, out tonight
NEW Christie 14 to 21 min over the last 4
LAL availability going into 11/29 · 1 day's restOUT Hachimura missed 2 since 11/25, out tonight
OUT Reddish missed 3 since 11/22, returns tonight: 20 min (95% of 20)
OUT Vanderbilt missed 5 since 11/19, out tonight
OUT Vincent missed 14 since 11/01, out tonight
NEW Christie 14 to 27 min over the last 4
LAL availability going into 11/30 · back-to-backOUT Hachimura missed 3 since 11/25, out tonight
OUT Vanderbilt missed 6 since 11/19, out tonight
OUT Vincent missed 15 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Reddish back 11/29 after 3, 20 min since (95% of 20)
NEW Christie 14 to 26 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 12/02 · 1 day's restOUT Hachimura missed 4 since 11/25, out tonight
OUT Vanderbilt missed 7 since 11/19, returns tonight: 14 min (68% of 20)
OUT Vincent missed 16 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Reddish back 11/29 after 3, 20 min since (95% of 20)
NEW Christie 14 to 25 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 110, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Garland at 25 and Eva. Mobley at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Mitchell (4 straight), Okoro (9 straight). 2 days' rest. The Lakers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 105, shooting 50 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; James at 29 and Davis at 18 a game. Without Vanderbilt (3 straight), Vincent (12 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Cleveland 111, the Lakers 110, the Lakers keeping it close.
11/17 vs DET 108-100 — CLE notes
CLE won 108-100. CLE shot 51% (42 of 82) to DET's 43%, 9 of 21 from three, and went to the line 21 times to DET's 15 — 15 points from the stripe to their 13. CLE turned it over 12 times to DET's 17. The glass went 39-51 against them. Garland led with 28 (10 of 19, 2 of 5 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Strus added 18, Mobley 18. The hinge was Q1, 35-26: from level to 9 ahead, and the lead reached 16. Niang was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
11/19 vs DEN 121-109 — CLE notes
CLE won 121-109. CLE shot 55% (45 of 82) to DEN's 48%, 11 of 27 from three. The glass went 47-33 for them. Garland led with 26 (10 of 16, 2 of 4 from three); Porter added 21, Mobley 16. The hinge was Q3, 26-17: a lead of 8 became 17, and the lead reached 26. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +42.
11/21 @ PHI 122-119 — CLE notes
CLE won 122-119 in 1 overtime. CLE shot 49% (46 of 94) to PHI's 42%, 9 of 25 from three, and got to the line 25 times to PHI's 34. The glass went 56-44 for them. Garland led with 32 (10 of 25, 2 of 6 from three, 10 of 11 at the line); Allen added 26, Strus 20. The hinge was Q2, 38-29: a lead of 3 became 12, and the lead reached 18. Porter Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
11/22 vs MIA 96-129 — CLE notes
CLE lost 96-129. CLE shot 47% (36 of 77) to MIA's 52%, 14 of 30 from three, and got to the line 14 times to MIA's 21. CLE turned it over 19 times to MIA's 10, and MIA turned those into 11 steals. Porter Jr. led with 16 (6 of 12, 2 of 5 from three); Garland added 14, E. Mobley 13. Q2 was theirs, 29-32, but the other 3 periods went 97-67 against them. Porter Jr.'s -24 in 35 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/25 vs LAL 115-121 — CLE notes
CLE lost 115-121. CLE shot 47% (43 of 91) to LAL's 52%, 9 of 28 from three. Mitchell led with 22 (4 of 18, 2 of 6 from three, 12 of 13 at the line); Allen added 21, Mobley 18. Q1 was theirs, 40-35, but the other 3 periods went 86-75 against them. Strus's -19 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/26 vs TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 116, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Garland at 21 and Eva. Mobley at 17 a game. Without Wade (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Toronto comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 117, shooting 52 percent and 39 from three, 24 free throws a game; Siakam at 23 and Schröder at 21 a game. Without Freeman-Liberty (14 straight), Young (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Toronto wins, on the road, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Toronto 115, Cleveland 114, Cleveland keeping it close.
11/28 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 116, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 19 free throws a game; Garland at 20 and Allen at 17 a game. Without Wade (3 straight), Merrill (2 straight). One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 131 a night and allowing 130, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Young at 32 and Bogdanović at 18 a game. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 116 a night to Atlanta's 130 and the line, where Atlanta takes 25 free throws a game to Cleveland's 19. Call it Cleveland 120, Atlanta 119, Atlanta keeping it close.
11/30 vs POR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 115, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 17 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Garland at 19 a game. Without Wade (4 straight), Merrill (3 straight). One day's rest. Portland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 115, shooting 45 percent and 40 from three, 21 free throws a game; Grant at 25 and Brogdon at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. Without Simons (16 straight), Murray (2 straight), Mays (2 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-2 a night and Portland minus-9. Call it Cleveland 114, Portland 109.
12/02 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 124, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 20 free throws a game; Cunningham at 26 and Ivey at 14 a game. That is 5 straight losses. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 112, shooting 47 percent and 34 from three, 14 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Eva. Mobley at 16 a game. Without Wade (5 straight), Merrill (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 112 a night to Detroit's 124 and the line, where Detroit takes 20 free throws a game to Cleveland's 14. Call it Cleveland 114, Detroit 112, Detroit keeping it close.
11/17 @ POR 107-95 — LAL notes
LAL won 107-95. LAL shot 49% (40 of 81) to POR's 40%, 12 of 29 from three. James led with 35 (13 of 22, 5 of 9 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); Davis added 16, Russell 14. The hinge was Q1, 30-23: from level to 7 ahead, and the lead reached 17. James was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
11/19 vs HOU 105-104 — LAL notes
LAL won 105-104. LAL shot 47% (39 of 83) to HOU's 49%, 6 of 29 from three, and went to the line 29 times to HOU's 10 — 21 points from the stripe to their 8. James led with 37 (14 of 19, 2 of 5 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Davis added 27, Reaves 17. The hinge was Q3, 32-20: LAL came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 6. LAL trailed 49-55 at the half and won the second half 56-49.
11/21 vs UTA 131-99 — LAL notes
LAL won 131-99. LAL shot 57% (49 of 86) to UTA's 39%, 11 of 29 from three, and went to the line 27 times to UTA's 16 — 22 points from the stripe to their 12. The glass went 52-42 for them. Davis led with 26 (11 of 14); Russell added 20, Reaves 19. The hinge was Q1, 32-17: from level to 15 ahead, and the lead reached 39. Davis was the night's best plus/minus at +34.
11/22 vs DAL 101-104 — LAL notes
LAL lost 101-104. LAL shot 46% (39 of 84) to DAL's 40%, 11 of 29 from three. LAL turned it over 11 times to DAL's 4. James led with 26 (9 of 19, 4 of 9 from three, 4 of 7 at the line); Reaves added 17, Russell 15. Q4 was theirs, 30-13, the deficit cut from 20 to 3, but the other 3 periods went 91-71 against them. Christie's -19 in 23 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/25 @ CLE 121-115 — LAL notes
LAL won 121-115. LAL shot 52% (47 of 90) to CLE's 47%, 9 of 27 from three. Davis led with 32 (13 of 20, 6 of 7 at the line); James added 22, Reaves 15. The hinge was Q4, 28-21: LAL came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 6. LAL trailed 70-71 at the half and won the second half 51-44. Hayes was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
11/27 @ PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 114, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 31 free throws a game; Embiid at 33 and Maxey at 24 a game. Without Oubre Jr. (8 straight). One day's rest. The Lakers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 103, shooting 50 percent and 34 from three, 24 free throws a game; James at 27 and Davis at 22 a game. They have won the glass by 5 a night. Without Reddish (2 straight), Vanderbilt (4 straight), Vincent (13 straight). One day's rest.
So: Philadelphia wins, and the game turns on the defense, the Lakers allowing 103 a night to Philadelphia's 114 and the line, where Philadelphia takes 31 free throws a game to the Lakers' 24. Call it Philadelphia 115, the Lakers 112, the Lakers keeping it close.
11/29 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 124, shooting 45 percent and 29 from three, 24 free throws a game; Cunningham at 24 and Ivey at 15 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Knox II (3 straight). One day's rest. The Lakers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 112, shooting 50 percent and 31 from three, 22 free throws a game; James at 24 and Davis at 22 a game. Without Hachimura (2 straight), Reddish (3 straight), Vanderbilt (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Lakers win, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, the Lakers allowing 112 a night to Detroit's 124. Call it the Lakers 115, Detroit 112, Detroit keeping it close.
11/30 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 110, shooting 49 percent and 42 from three, 24 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 34 and Holmgren at 24 a game. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 113, shooting 51 percent and 34 from three, 24 free throws a game; Davis at 23 and James at 22 a game. Without Hachimura (3 straight), Vanderbilt (6 straight), Vincent (15 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the arc, OKC at 42 percent from three to the Lakers' 34 and the turnovers, the Lakers giving it away 14 times a game to OKC's 10. Call it OKC 118, the Lakers 111.
12/02 vs HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 119, shooting 48 percent and 33 from three, 25 free throws a game; Davis at 24 and James at 22 a game. Without Hachimura (4 straight), Vanderbilt (7 straight), Vincent (16 straight). One day's rest. Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 20 free throws a game; Sengun at 23 and Ja. Green at 23 a game. Without Thompson (12 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Houston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, the Lakers giving it away 14 times a game to Houston's 10 and the defense, Houston allowing 111 a night to the Lakers' 119. Call it Houston 113, the Lakers 112, the Lakers keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECL C. LeVert
CP C. Porter Jr.
DG D. Garland
DM D. Mitchell
EM E. Mobley
GN G. Niang
IO I. Okoro
JA J. Allen
MS M. Strus
PO Porter
LALAD A. Davis
AR A. Reaves
CW C. Wood
DR D. Russell
JH J. Hayes
LJ L. James
MC M. Christie
TP T. Prince
CLE/LAL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Anthony Davis scores season-high 32 points, Lakers beat the Cavaliers 121-115
CLEVELAND -- — Anthony Davis scored 23 of his season-high 32 points in the second half and grabbed 13 rebounds, LeBron James had 22 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-115 on Saturday night.
James added six rebounds, six assists and two steals in beating Cleveland for the 18th time in 21 career games. The 39-year-old attended St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in nearby Akron and spent 11 seasons with the Cavaliers, leading them to the 2016 NBA championship.
“Tonight was an A.D. game for us,” James said. “He needs to touch the ball, and we want him to be aggressive offensively and anchor our defense. He did a great job attacking the basket and guarding the glass.”
Austin Reeves had 15 points and 10 assists, Christian Wood scored 13 points and Max Christie had 12 for the Lakers, who won their third straight on the road. Los Angeles shot 52.2% and had 34 assists on 47 baskets.
“Any time you can get that assist number up, it means you’re playing the game the right way,” Reeves said. “The team did a really good job trying to make winning plays.”
Donovan Mitchell , who missed the previous four games with a right hamstring strain, shot 4 of 18 and had 22 points and six assists for Cleveland. Jarrett Allen added 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Evan Mobley finished with 18 points and six assists.
Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland did not play in the second half because of a neck strain, caused by an awkward collision with Christie in the first quarter.
“We didn’t play how we wanted to the entire game and we didn’t complete the mission,” Mobley said. “They were executing their plays and we weren’t down the stretch. It’s disappointing.”
The Lakers built an eight-point advantage in the fourth, but the Cavaliers pulled within 113-112 on Mobley’s basket while being fouled. Mobley missed the subsequent free throw and James followed with a layup and dunk to increase Los Angeles’ lead to 117-112 with 1:12 left.
James extended his league-record streak of double-digit scoring performances to 1,167, raising his point total to an unprecedented 39,060 over 21 NBA seasons. He is Cleveland’s career leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals, minutes and games.
“Stepping back on this floor and knowing I was part of pretty much all the banners in this arena, that’s pretty cool,” said James, who starred on all six of the Cavaliers’ Eastern Conference title teams. “It’s very special to be a kid from Akron and to have been drafted here and played 11 years in Cleveland.”
Earlier in the day, a museum dedicated to his life, “LeBron James’ Home Court,” opened at his family foundation’s House Three Thirty in Akron. Admission is $23, matching his uniform number.
“He’s a great young man who has done tremendous things on the basketball floor, in the world of business and in education,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
Cleveland had its highest-scoring quarter of the season, leading 40-35 after the first, and its top-scoring half as it carried a 71-70 advantage into the break.