Game ID: 22300497
San Antonio Spurs @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Sunday, January 7, 2024 at 1:00 PM ET
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 28 34 26 29 117SAS 32 24 28 31 115
CLE vs SAS ScoutingCLE vs SAS 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 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Mitchell missed 4 since 12/20, returns tonight: 36 min (101% of 36)
OUT Garland missed 6 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 10 since 12/08, out tonight
OUT Merrill missed 2 since 12/23, returns tonight: 15 min (89% of 17)
NEW Okoro 26 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Wade 20 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Porter Jr. 13 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Thompson 11 to 17 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/01 · 2 days' restOUT Garland missed 7 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 11 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 12/29 after 4, 36 min since (101% of 36)
BACK Merrill back 12/29 after 2, 15 min since (89% of 17)
NEW Okoro 26 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Wade 20 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Porter Jr. 13 to 28 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 8 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 12 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 12/29 after 4, 37 min since (103% of 36)
BACK Merrill back 12/29 after 2, 16 min since (95% of 17)
NEW Okoro 26 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Wade 20 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Porter Jr. 13 to 24 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 9 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 13 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 12/29 after 4, 33 min since (91% of 36)
BACK Merrill back 12/29 after 2, 20 min since (120% of 17)
NEW Porter Jr. 13 to 21 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 10 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 14 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 12/29 after 4, 31 min since (86% of 36)
BACK Merrill back 12/29 after 2, 22 min since (129% of 17)
CLE availability going into 1/11 · 3 days' restOUT Garland missed 11 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 15 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 12/29 after 4, 32 min since (90% of 36)
BACK Merrill back 12/29 after 2, 22 min since (130% of 17)
CLE availability going into 1/15 · 3 days' restOUT Garland missed 12 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 16 since 12/08, out tonight
NEW Merrill 17 to 25 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/17 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 13 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 17 since 12/08, out tonight
OUT Porter Jr. missed 2 since 1/11, returns tonight: 20 min (157% of 13)
NEW Merrill 17 to 26 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/20 · 2 days' restOUT Garland missed 14 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 18 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 1/17 after 2, 20 min since (157% of 13)
NEW Merrill 17 to 25 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 12/29 · back-to-backOUT Graham missed 2 since 12/26, out tonight
OUT Barlow missed 4 since 12/21, returns tonight: 14 min (112% of 13)
BACK Wesley back 12/21 after 2, 6 min since (45% of 14)
BACK Cissoko back 12/21 after 12, 6 min since (55% of 12)
SAS availability going into 12/31 · 1 day's restOUT Graham missed 3 since 12/26, returns tonight: 8 min (59% of 14)
OUT Cissoko missed 2 since 12/28, returns tonight: 8 min (68% of 12)
BACK Wesley back 12/21 after 2, 6 min since (45% of 14)
BACK Barlow back 12/29 after 4, 14 min since (112% of 13)
SAS availability going into 1/02 · 1 day's restBACK Graham back 12/23 after 2, 8 min since (60% of 14)
BACK Barlow back 12/29 after 4, 13 min since (106% of 13)
BACK Cissoko back 12/31 after 2, 8 min since (68% of 12)
SAS availability going into 1/04 · 1 day's restOUT Collins missed 2 since 12/31, out tonight
BACK Graham back 12/31 after 3, 8 min since (59% of 14)
BACK Barlow back 12/29 after 4, 14 min since (107% of 13)
BACK Cissoko back 12/31 after 2, 8 min since (68% of 12)
SAS availability going into 1/07 · 2 days' restOUT Collins missed 3 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT Graham missed 2 since 1/02, out tonight
OUT Cissoko missed 2 since 1/02, out tonight
BACK Barlow back 12/29 after 4, 14 min since (109% of 13)
SAS availability going into 1/10 · 2 days' restOUT Collins missed 4 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT McDermott missed 2 since 1/04, returns tonight: 15 min (99% of 15)
OUT Graham missed 3 since 1/02, out tonight
OUT Cissoko missed 3 since 1/02, out tonight
BACK Barlow back 12/29 after 4, 16 min since (122% of 13)
SAS availability going into 1/12 · 1 day's restOUT Collins missed 5 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT Graham missed 4 since 1/02, returns tonight: 10 min (71% of 14)
OUT Cissoko missed 4 since 1/02, out tonight
BACK McDermott back 1/10 after 2, 15 min since (99% of 15)
SAS availability going into 1/13 · back-to-backOUT Collins missed 6 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT Cissoko missed 5 since 1/02, out tonight
BACK McDermott back 1/10 after 2, 13 min since (88% of 15)
BACK Graham back 1/12 after 4, 10 min since (71% of 14)
NEW Barlow 13 to 18 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 1/15 · 1 day's restOUT Collins missed 7 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT Cissoko missed 6 since 1/02, out tonight
BACK McDermott back 1/10 after 2, 13 min since (88% of 15)
BACK Graham back 1/12 after 4, 10 min since (71% of 14)
NEW Barlow 13 to 20 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 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 109, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and Allen at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Garland (10 straight), Eva. Mobley (14 straight). One day's rest. San Antonio comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 121, shooting 47 percent and 32 from three, 21 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 24 and Vassell at 21 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Collins (3 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-11 a night and San Antonio minus-8 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 109 a night to San Antonio's 121. Call it Cleveland 120, San Antonio 110, Cleveland by 10.
12/29 vs MIL 111-119 — CLE notes
CLE lost 111-119. CLE took 23 more shots (103 to 80), but shot 48% to MIL's 51%, 6 of 43 from three, and got to the line just 9 times against 20 fouls committed. CLE turned it over 8 times to MIL's 17. Mitchell led with 34 (14 of 23, 2 of 10 from three); Allen added 30, Porter Jr. 14. Q1 was theirs, 37-31, but the other 3 periods went 88-74 against them. They led by as many as 15. Allen's -12 in 40 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/01 @ TOR 121-124 — CLE notes
CLE lost 121-124. CLE shot 48% (43 of 89) to TOR's 48%, 12 of 36 from three, and got to the line 26 times to TOR's 40. LeVert led with 31 (12 of 20, 2 of 7 from three); Mitchell added 26, Allen 16. Q4 was theirs, 30-26, the deficit cut from 7 to 3, but the other 3 periods went 98-91 against them. Okoro's -17 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/03 vs WAS 140-101 — CLE notes
CLE won 140-101. CLE shot 53% (54 of 101) to WAS's 42%, 20 of 42 from three. The glass went 62-36 for them. Strus led with 24 (9 of 13, 6 of 8 from three); Mitchell added 22, LeVert 21. The hinge was Q3, 34-20: a lead of 12 became 26, and the lead reached 44. Strus was the night's best plus/minus at +32.
1/05 vs WAS 114-90 — CLE notes
CLE won 114-90. CLE shot 53% (41 of 77) to WAS's 42%, 16 of 33 from three, and went to the line 23 times to WAS's 15 — 16 points from the stripe to their 11. CLE turned it over 23 times to WAS's 16, and WAS turned those into 12 steals. The glass went 52-31 for them. Mitchell led with 26 (8 of 15, 5 of 8 from three, 5 of 8 at the line); Niang added 14, Allen 12. The hinge was Q3, 32-19: a lead of 12 became 25, and the lead reached 29. Mitchell was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
1/07 vs SAS 117-115 — CLE notes
CLE won 117-115. CLE shot 49% (43 of 88) to SAS's 48%, 16 of 43 from three. CLE turned it over 16 times to SAS's 11, and SAS turned those into 10 steals. Allen led with 29 (11 of 19, 7 of 7 at the line); LeVert added 23, Merrill 18. The hinge was Q2, 34-24: CLE came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 6, and the lead reached 16. Niang was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
1/11 vs BKN — 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 121 a night and allowing 110, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mitchell at 25 and Allen at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Garland (11 straight), Eva. Mobley (15 straight). 3 days' rest. Brooklyn comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 119, shooting 41 percent and 31 from three, 25 free throws a game; Bridges at 22 and Claxton at 15 a game. Without Simmons (30 straight), Clowney (6 straight), Wilson (2 straight). 3 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 110 a night to Brooklyn's 119 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-8 a night and Brooklyn plus-3. Call it Cleveland 119, Brooklyn 110.
1/15 vs CHI — 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 121 a night and allowing 106, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 26 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and LeVert at 21 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Garland (12 straight), Eva. Mobley (16 straight). 3 days' rest. Chicago comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 116, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; White at 24 and DeRozan at 23 a game. Without Craig (14 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-11 a night and Chicago minus-1 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 106 a night to Chicago's 116. Call it Cleveland 117, Chicago 111.
1/17 vs MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 100, shooting 47 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; Mitchell at 29 and LeVert at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 12 a night. Without Garland (13 straight), Eva. Mobley (17 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 121, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 25 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 31 and Lillard at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Crowder (31 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 100 a night to Milwaukee's 121 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-12 a night and Milwaukee plus-2. Call it Cleveland 119, Milwaukee 115, Milwaukee keeping it close.
1/20 @ ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 113, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Young at 22 and Murray at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Hunter (14 straight), Krejčí (13 straight), Fernando (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Cleveland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 99, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Mitchell at 31 and Allen at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Garland (14 straight), Eva. Mobley (18 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-11 a night and Atlanta minus-3 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 99 a night to Atlanta's 113. Call it Cleveland 117, Atlanta 109.
12/29 @ POR 128-134 — SAS notes
SAS lost 128-134. SAS shot 51% (48 of 94) to POR's 51%, 14 of 33 from three. Johnson led with 29 (9 of 18, 3 of 8 from three, 8 of 11 at the line); Vassell added 22, McDermott 18. Q3 was theirs, 38-33, the deficit cut from 15 to 10, but the other 3 periods went 101-90 against them. Branham's -24 in 29 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/31 vs BOS 101-134 — SAS notes
SAS lost 101-134. SAS shot 43% (40 of 94) to BOS's 54%, 12 of 45 from three, and got to the line 12 times to BOS's 22. The glass went 39-57 against them. Vassell led with 22 (9 of 15, 2 of 4 from three); Wembanyama added 21, Branham 11. Q2 was theirs, 31-35, but the other 3 periods went 99-70 against them. Vassell's -34 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/02 @ MEM 98-106 — SAS notes
SAS lost 98-106. SAS shot 42% (36 of 85) to MEM's 46%, 10 of 31 from three. Wembanyama led with 20 (8 of 16, 2 of 5 from three); Johnson added 19, Sochan 12. Q4 was theirs, 30-26, the deficit cut from 12 to 8, but the other 3 periods went 80-68 against them. Johnson's -15 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/04 vs MIL 121-125 — SAS notes
SAS lost 121-125. SAS shot 48% (46 of 95) to MIL's 53%, 14 of 40 from three. Vassell led with 34 (14 of 21, 6 of 9 from three); Wembanyama added 27, Jones 18. Q3 was theirs, 34-29, the deficit cut from 5 to 0, but the other 3 periods went 96-87 against them. Sochan's -14 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/07 @ CLE 115-117 — SAS notes
SAS lost 115-117. SAS shot 48% (41 of 86) to CLE's 49%, 14 of 37 from three. SAS turned it over 11 times to CLE's 16. Wembanyama led with 24 (6 of 13, 2 of 5 from three, 10 of 11 at the line); Vassell added 22, Jones 18. Q1 was theirs, 32-28, but the other 3 periods went 89-83 against them. They led by as many as 14.
1/10 @ 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 119 a night and allowing 133, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Bogdanović at 20 and Burks at 19 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Stewart (7 straight), Bagley III (4 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. San Antonio comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 123, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 20 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 23 and Vassell at 22 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Collins (4 straight), McDermott (2 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the defense, San Antonio allowing 123 a night to Detroit's 133 and the arc, Detroit at 39 percent from three to San Antonio's 34. Call it Detroit 120, San Antonio 119, San Antonio keeping it close.
1/12 vs CHA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 118, shooting 47 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 22 and Vassell at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Collins (5 straight). One day's rest. Charlotte comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 101 a night and allowing 112, shooting 43 percent and 37 from three, 16 free throws a game; Rozier at 28 and Bridges at 26 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without Ball (20 straight), Washington (2 straight), Martin (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: San Antonio wins, and the game turns on the arc, Charlotte at 37 percent from three to San Antonio's 33. Call it San Antonio 116, Charlotte 111.
1/13 vs CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 23 and Vassell at 19 a game. Without Collins (6 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Chicago comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 116, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 20 free throws a game; White at 26 and DeRozan at 24 a game. Without Craig (13 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: San Antonio wins, and the game turns on the line, where San Antonio takes 25 free throws a game to Chicago's 20. Call it San Antonio 116, Chicago 114, Chicago keeping it close.
1/15 @ ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 130, shooting 43 percent and 30 from three, 31 free throws a game; Murray at 24 and Young at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Hunter (11 straight), Krejčí (10 straight). One day's rest. San Antonio comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 114, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 25 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 23 and Vassell at 18 a game. Without Collins (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: San Antonio wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, San Antonio allowing 114 a night to Atlanta's 130 and the arc, San Antonio at 39 percent from three to Atlanta's 30. Call it San Antonio 122, Atlanta 119, Atlanta keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECL C. LeVert
CP C. Porter Jr.
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
GN G. Niang
IO I. Okoro
JA J. Allen
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
TT T. Thompson
SASBW B. Wesley
CO C. Osman
DB D. Barlow
DV D. Vassell
JC J. Champagnie
JS J. Sochan
KJ K. Johnson
MB M. Branham
TJ T. Jones
VW V. Wembanyama
CLE/SAS 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
Jarrett Allen has 29 points and 16 rebounds, Cavaliers hold off Spurs 117-115
CLEVELAND -- — Jarrett Allen had 29 points and 16 rebounds, Caris LeVert scored 23 points off the bench and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the San Antonio Spurs 117-115 on Sunday.
Top overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama had 24 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots in 25 minutes for San Antonio. The 7-foot-3 Frenchman leads the NBA in blocks and ranks first among rookies in scoring, rebounding and steals.
“(Allen) was a great threat and is a player that I respect,” said Wembanyama, who remains on a minutes restriction imposed by the team. “He’s the type of player I like and he’s already had a long career. He’s efficient and does the hard jobs.”
Allen is averaging 21.0 points and 15.7 rebounds over the last seven games for Cleveland, which has won three in a row. The Cavaliers left for France later in the day in preparation for their Thursday game in Paris against Brooklyn.
“I don’t know any big man, any center who is playing better than Jarrett Allen right now,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “In my opinion, he’s an All-Star. He’s got to be. It’s deserving.”
Wembanyama and Allen exchanged highlight-reel blocks of each other in a wild fourth quarter that saw Cleveland build a 111-95 lead, only to have San Antonio answer with a 20-6 run — scoring the final 11 points — to pull within two in the final minute.
The Spurs had a pair of opportunities to go ahead, but Jeremy Sochan threw the ball out of bounds with 10 seconds left and his 31-footer was off target at the buzzer. San Antonio has the second-worst record in the NBA at 5-30 and is 0-11 against the East.
“You know how we do it down here, we like to keep the fans engaged,” Allen quipped. “I’m excited for Wemby because he’s talented, takes people off the dribble, is an excellent shot blocker, posts up. He has it all. And you don’t realize how big his wingspan is until you go against him.”
Sam Merrill scored 18 points and Donovan Mitchell had 17 points and nine assists for the Cavaliers. Cleveland is 8-3 since learning it will be without point guard Darius Garland (broken jaw) and power forward Evan Mobley (left knee surgery) until February.
“In the fourth quarter, we took our foot off the gas a little bit,” LeVert said. “We’ve got to clean that up, but overall it was a good win for us.”
Devin Vassell had 22 points and Tre Jones and Keldon Johnson each added 18 for the Spurs. Longtime Cavaliers forward Cedi Osman had nine points and six rebounds in his return to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
“We outscored them 11-0 in the last three minutes, so the defense was pretty good,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.
Vassell scored 12 points in the first quarter as the Spurs went up 14, but Merrill caught fire with five 3-pointers to send Cleveland into halftime with a 62-56 lead.