Game ID: 22300728
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Washington Wizards
Wednesday, February 7, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET
Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
WAS 27 30 22 27 106CLE 27 30 23 34 114
CLE @ WAS ScoutingCLE @ WAS 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.
WAS availability going into 1/29 · 1 day's restOUT Butler missed 10 since 1/08, out tonight
BACK Gafford back 1/21 after 2, 28 min since (104% of 26)
BACK Davis back 1/25 after 4, 1 min since (7% of 12)
WAS availability going into 1/31 · 1 day's restOUT Butler missed 11 since 1/08, out tonight
OUT Baldwin Jr. missed 2 since 1/27, returns tonight: 12 min (95% of 13)
OUT Davis missed 2 since 1/27, returns tonight: 12 min (98% of 12)
BACK Gafford back 1/21 after 2, 28 min since (104% of 26)
WAS availability going into 2/02 · 1 day's restOUT Butler missed 12 since 1/08, out tonight
BACK Baldwin Jr. back 1/31 after 2, 12 min since (95% of 13)
BACK Davis back 1/25 after 4, 6 min since (52% of 12)
WAS availability going into 2/04 · 1 day's restOUT Butler missed 13 since 1/08, out tonight
BACK Baldwin Jr. back 1/31 after 2, 12 min since (95% of 13)
BACK Davis back 1/25 after 4, 5 min since (40% of 12)
WAS availability going into 2/07 · 2 days' restOUT Bagley III missed 2 since 2/02, out tonight
OUT Butler missed 14 since 1/08, out tonight
BACK Baldwin Jr. back 1/31 after 2, 10 min since (74% of 13)
BACK Davis back 1/31 after 2, 11 min since (86% of 12)
WAS availability going into 2/09 · 1 day's restOUT Bagley III missed 3 since 2/02, out tonight
OUT Butler missed 15 since 1/08, out tonight
BACK Baldwin Jr. back 1/31 after 2, 10 min since (74% of 13)
BACK Davis back 1/31 after 2, 11 min since (86% of 12)
WAS availability going into 2/10 · back-to-backOUT Bagley III missed 4 since 2/02, returns tonight: 15 min (62% of 24)
OUT Butler missed 16 since 1/08, out tonight
OUT Baldwin Jr. missed 2 since 2/07, out tonight
OUT Davis missed 2 since 2/07, out tonight
WAS availability going into 2/12 · 1 day's restOUT Butler missed 17 since 1/08, out tonight
OUT Baldwin Jr. missed 3 since 2/07, out tonight
OUT Davis missed 3 since 2/07, out tonight
BACK Bagley III back 2/10 after 4, 15 min since (62% of 24)
WAS availability going into 2/14 · 1 day's restOUT Butler missed 18 since 1/08, returns tonight: 2 min (16% of 14)
OUT Baldwin Jr. missed 4 since 2/07, out tonight
OUT Davis missed 4 since 2/07, out tonight
BACK Bagley III back 2/10 after 4, 22 min since (90% of 24)
CLE availability going into 1/31 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 19 since 12/16, returns tonight: 20 min (61% of 34)
OUT Porter Jr. missed 2 since 1/26, out tonight
OUT Thompson missed 3 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Eva. Mobley back 1/29 after 22, 21 min since (66% of 32)
BACK LeVert back 1/24 after 2, 25 min since (89% of 28)
NEW Merrill 17 to 23 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 2/01 · back-to-backOUT Porter Jr. missed 3 since 1/26, out tonight
OUT Thompson missed 4 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Garland back 1/31 after 19, 20 min since (61% of 34)
BACK Eva. Mobley back 1/29 after 22, 22 min since (69% of 32)
BACK LeVert back 1/24 after 2, 25 min since (89% of 28)
CLE availability going into 2/03 · 1 day's restOUT Porter Jr. missed 4 since 1/26, returns tonight: 0 min (4% of 13)
OUT Thompson missed 5 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Garland back 1/31 after 19, 22 min since (66% of 34)
BACK Eva. Mobley back 1/29 after 22, 22 min since (69% of 32)
BACK LeVert back 1/24 after 2, 26 min since (91% of 28)
CLE availability going into 2/05 · 1 day's restOUT Thompson missed 6 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Garland back 1/31 after 19, 23 min since (67% of 34)
BACK Eva. Mobley back 1/29 after 22, 22 min since (71% of 32)
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/03 after 4, 0 min since (4% of 13)
CLE availability going into 2/07 · 1 day's restOUT Thompson missed 7 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Garland back 1/31 after 19, 24 min since (71% of 34)
BACK Eva. Mobley back 1/29 after 22, 24 min since (75% of 32)
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/03 after 4, 2 min since (13% of 13)
CLE availability going into 2/08 · back-to-backOUT Thompson missed 8 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Garland back 1/31 after 19, 25 min since (73% of 34)
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/03 after 4, 2 min since (13% of 13)
CLE availability going into 2/10 · 1 day's restOUT Thompson missed 9 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/03 after 4, 2 min since (17% of 13)
CLE availability going into 2/12 · 1 day's restOUT Thompson missed 10 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/03 after 4, 2 min since (17% of 13)
CLE availability going into 2/14 · 1 day's restOUT Porter Jr. missed 2 since 2/10, out tonight
OUT Thompson missed 11 since 1/24, out tonight
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Washington comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 118, shooting 47 percent and 29 from three, 20 free throws a game; Kuzma at 22 and Kispert at 15 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Bagley III (2 straight). 2 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 108, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mitchell at 32 and Allen at 19 a game. That is 5 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Cleveland at 38 percent from three to Washington's 29 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 108 a night to Washington's 118. Call it Cleveland 119, Washington 112.
1/29 @ SAS 118-113 — WAS notes
WAS won 118-113. WAS shot 53% (46 of 86) to SAS's 47%, 9 of 25 from three, and went to the line 24 times to SAS's 17 — 17 points from the stripe to their 15. Kuzma led with 18 (7 of 18, 0 of 4 from three); Gafford added 16, T. Jones 15. The hinge was Q4, 31-20: WAS came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 5. WAS trailed 54-58 at the half and won the second half 64-55. Coulibaly was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
1/31 vs LAC 109-125 — WAS notes
WAS lost 109-125. WAS shot 46% (45 of 97) to LAC's 47%, 9 of 29 from three, and got to the line 15 times to LAC's 22. WAS turned it over 13 times to LAC's 8, and LAC turned those into 9 steals. Kuzma led with 27 (11 of 22, 2 of 4 from three); Coulibaly added 19, Kispert 16. Q4 was theirs, 30-19, the deficit cut from 27 to 16, but the other 3 periods went 106-79 against them. Avdija's -33 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/02 vs MIA 102-110 — WAS notes
WAS lost 102-110. WAS shot 41% (37 of 90) to MIA's 43%, 11 of 42 from three, and got to the line 21 times to MIA's 35. The glass went 43-59 against them. Kispert led with 26 (10 of 18, 6 of 14 from three); Poole added 16, Avdija 15. Q4 was theirs, 28-23, the deficit cut from 13 to 8, but the other 3 periods went 87-74 against them. They led by as many as 11. Coulibaly's -19 in 25 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/04 vs PHX 112-140 — WAS notes
WAS lost 112-140. WAS took 8 more shots (96 to 88), fed by 13 offensive rebounds, but shot 49% to PHX's 61%, 7 of 32 from three, and got to the line 17 times to PHX's 26. Avdija led with 24 (10 of 13, 3 of 5 from three); Omoruyi added 16, Kispert 15. Q4 was theirs, 26-24, the deficit cut from 30 to 28, but the other 3 periods went 116-86 against them. Coulibaly's -25 in 25 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/07 vs CLE 106-114 — WAS notes
WAS lost 106-114. WAS shot 45% (42 of 94) to CLE's 49%, 16 of 40 from three, and got to the line just 9 times against 23 fouls committed. Kuzma led with 28 (11 of 24, 5 of 13 from three); Kispert added 23, Jones 15. Q1 was theirs, 27-27, but the other 3 periods went 87-79 against them. Omoruyi's -19 in 13 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/09 @ BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 16 free throws a game; Tatum at 27 and Porziņģis at 23 a game. One day's rest. Washington comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 120, shooting 47 percent and 31 from three, 17 free throws a game; Kuzma at 22 and Kispert at 18 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Bagley III (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 37 percent from three to Washington's 31 and the defense, Boston allowing 112 a night to Washington's 120. Call it Boston 123, Washington 110, Boston by 13.
2/10 vs PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Washington comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 124, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 17 free throws a game; Kuzma at 21 and Kispert at 21 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Bagley III (4 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Philadelphia comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 126, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 22 free throws a game; Maxey at 25 and Harris at 20 a game. That is 4 straight losses. Without Embiid (5 straight), Melton (14 straight), Batum (6 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Philadelphia wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Philadelphia has been minus-2 a night and Washington minus-8 and the turnovers, Washington giving it away 13 times a game to Philadelphia's 9. Call it Philadelphia 119, Washington 118, Washington keeping it close.
2/12 @ DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Dallas comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 111, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 23 free throws a game; Dončić at 33 and Irving at 25 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Lively II (6 straight), Exum (8 straight). One day's rest. Washington comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 123, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 18 free throws a game; Kuzma at 20 and Avdija at 19 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest.
So: Dallas wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Dallas has been plus-2 a night and Washington minus-8 and the defense, Dallas allowing 111 a night to Washington's 123. Call it Dallas 124, Washington 113, Dallas by 11.
2/14 @ NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 103, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 18 free throws a game; Ingram at 22 and Williamson at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Daniels (2 straight). One day's rest. Washington comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 124, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 17 free throws a game; Kuzma at 22 and Avdija at 21 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: New Orleans wins, and the game turns on the defense, New Orleans allowing 103 a night to Washington's 124 and the glass, where New Orleans has been plus-6 a night and Washington minus-6. Call it New Orleans 120, Washington 110, New Orleans by 10.
1/31 vs DET 128-121 — CLE notes
CLE won 128-121. CLE shot 53% (47 of 89) to DET's 56%, 12 of 35 from three. CLE turned it over 9 times to DET's 17. Mitchell led with 45 (14 of 25, 6 of 13 from three, 11 of 12 at the line); Garland added 19, Allen 14. The hinge was Q1, 30-23: from level to 7 ahead. Mitchell was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
2/01 @ MEM 108-101 — CLE notes
CLE won 108-101. CLE shot 48% (41 of 86) to MEM's 41%, 14 of 35 from three. Mitchell led with 25 (10 of 19, 3 of 9 from three); LeVert added 16, Allen 14. The hinge was Q3, 30-22: CLE came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 1. CLE trailed 51-58 at the half and won the second half 57-43. Wade was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
2/03 @ SAS 117-101 — CLE notes
CLE won 117-101. CLE shot 47% (46 of 97) to SAS's 37%, 13 of 44 from three, and got to the line 13 times to SAS's 21. Mitchell led with 31 (12 of 20, 4 of 9 from three); Mobley added 28, Allen 26. The hinge was Q2, 37-20: a lead of 5 became 22, and the lead reached 26. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
2/05 vs SAC 136-110 — CLE notes
CLE won 136-110. CLE shot 58% (51 of 88) to SAC's 46%, 23 of 41 from three. Mitchell led with 29 (11 of 20, 5 of 11 from three); Strus added 22, Allen 19. The hinge was Q4, 30-18: a lead of 14 became 26, and the lead reached 29. Mitchell was the night's best plus/minus at +28.
2/07 @ WAS 114-106 — CLE notes
CLE won 114-106. CLE shot 49% (43 of 88) to WAS's 45%, 12 of 35 from three, and went to the line 22 times to WAS's 9 — 16 points from the stripe to their 6. Mitchell led with 40 (14 of 25, 5 of 10 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Mobley added 22, Garland 13. The hinge was Q4, 34-27: a lead of 1 became 8. Okoro was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
2/08 @ BKN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Brooklyn comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 120, shooting 47 percent and 39 from three, 18 free throws a game; Thomas at 25 and Bridges at 24 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Finney-Smith (5 straight), Sharpe (13 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 108, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mitchell at 34 and Eva. Mobley at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 108 a night to Brooklyn's 120 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-1 a night and Brooklyn minus-5. Call it Cleveland 116, Brooklyn 115, Brooklyn keeping it close.
2/10 @ TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Toronto comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 126, shooting 47 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Barrett at 22 and Barnes at 19 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Freeman-Liberty (7 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Cleveland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 103, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 17 free throws a game; Mitchell at 30 and Eva. Mobley at 19 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 103 a night to Toronto's 126 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-4 a night and Toronto minus-5. Call it Cleveland 119, Toronto 110.
2/12 vs PHI — 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 121 a night and allowing 101, shooting 52 percent and 39 from three, 16 free throws a game; Mitchell at 28 and Eva. Mobley at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 124, shooting 44 percent and 31 from three, 23 free throws a game; Maxey at 20 and Oubre Jr. at 18 a game. Without Embiid (6 straight), Melton (15 straight), Batum (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 101 a night to Philadelphia's 124 and the arc, Cleveland at 39 percent from three to Philadelphia's 31. Call it Cleveland 120, Philadelphia 109, Cleveland by 11.
2/14 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 122 a night and allowing 106, shooting 52 percent and 40 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mitchell at 29 and Allen at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. Chicago comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 119, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 24 free throws a game; DeRozan at 29 and Vučević at 24 a game. Without Williams (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 106 a night to Chicago's 119 and the line, where Chicago takes 24 free throws a game to Cleveland's 19. Call it Cleveland 118, Chicago 111.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECL C. LeVert
DG D. Garland
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
GN G. Niang
IO I. Okoro
JA J. Allen
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
WASBC B. Coulibaly
CK C. Kispert
DA D. Avdija
DG D. Gafford
DW D. Wright
EO E. Omoruyi
JP J. Poole
KK K. Kuzma
LS L. Shamet
TJ T. Jones
CLE/WAS 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
Mitchell scores 40 points as Cavaliers beat Wizards 114-106 for seventh straight win
WASHINGTON -- — Donovan Mitchell scored 40 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame an uneven performance for their 15th victory in 16 games, a 114-106 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
Evan Mobley added 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting to help the Cavaliers extend their current NBA-best win streak to seven games and move a game ahead of Milwaukee and New York in second place in the Eastern Conference.
“I keep saying it, it's February 7th,” Mitchell said. “This is great, we're in a great position. But at the end of the day, we're trying to play until April, be in the best position (then). Definitely not satisfied with where we're at.”
Mitchell and Mobley also had eight rebounds apiece as Cleveland survived a game with nine ties and 17 lead changes against the Wizards, who are second-to-last in the East.
The Cavs lost the rebounding battle 47-46 to Washington, the league's worst team on the glass, but held the hosts to just 45% shooting (42 of 94). And they limited Jordan Poole — the Wizards' second-leading scorer — scoreless on five shots before he fouled out in 24-plus minutes.
“I think we just do our best to try and make it as difficult as we can on him,” said Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff, whose team has held Poole to 3 of 20 from the floor in three games. “We throw different lineups at him, different matchups. Our big guys do a great job of protecting, but guys have taken an individual challenge on him.”
Neither team led by more than seven until Darius Garland 's runner was counted good via basket interference to make it 108-99 with 56 seconds remaining.
Kyle Kuzma scored 28 points for Washington, which closed a four-game homestand without a victory after winning two of its first three games under interim coach Brian Keefe.
Corey Kispert added 23 points and Daniel Gafford had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards, who hit 16 of their 40 3-point attempts to keep the contest close.
“I thought it was more on us,” Mobley said of the Wizards playing Cleveland about even for three quarters. “We just had a lot of mental lapses, started out pretty slow, just weren't knocking down shots that we normally knock down.”
The first and second quarters ended even, and Cleveland led 80-79 at the end of the third after Mitchell’s mid-range runner beat the buzzer.
Then he scored five points during a 9-0 run in the fourth that gave the Cavaliers the lead for good. And Mitchell's fifth and final 3-pointer — a pull-up over Kuzma with the shot clock expiring — made it 104-97 with 2:19 left.
He added two more layups to complete his 18th 40-point game in 108 games with Cleveland.
“For us, we didn't start out well, we didn't play our best basketball,” Mitchell said. “For us to kind of still know that, acknowledge that, and being able to fix it ... it's something to fall back on, understanding that we have a foundation.”