Phoenix Suns @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Monday, January 20, 2025 at 3:30 PM ET
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH | Game ID: 22400603
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 27 32 34 25 118PHX 27 19 24 22 92
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Donovan Mitchell scores 33 points and propels NBA-leading Cavaliers to easy 118-92 win over Suns
CLEVELAND -- — Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points — 23 in the second half — and Darius Garland added 16 as the Cleveland Cavaliers began the season's unofficial second half by dominating the Phoenix Suns 118-92 in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee on Monday.
The Cavs, who opened the season with 15 straight wins, improved the NBA's best record to 36-6 — tied for the eighth-best start in history. They're also 21-2 at home and 13-1 against Western Conference teams.
Cleveland had little trouble handling the Suns despite missing three rotational players as forwards Evan Mobley (calf), Isaac Okoro (shoulder) and guard Caris LeVert (wrist) sat out with injuries.
Kevin Durant scored 23 to lead Phoenix, which had won five of six. Devin Booker added 15 — 10 below his average — and had six turnovers.
Suns guard Bradley Beal returned after missing the last two games with left ankle sprain and scored just five points in 25 minutes.
Takeaways Suns: Booker never got going offensively and failed to reach 30 points for the first time in six games.
Cavaliers: Without Mobley, Cleveland was missing 18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and his defensive presence. It put stress on Cleveland's front line, but Jarrett Allen scored 12 and backup Tristan Thompson gave coach Kenny Atkinson a season-high 10 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Key moment With the Suns making a push in the third, Mitchell made consecutive 3-pointers in the final 36 seconds to give Cleveland a 93-70 lead.
Key stat Garland’s first 3-pointer was the 803rd of his career, moving him past Mark Price (802) on the Cavs' all-time list. Only LeBron James (1,251) and Kevin Love (1,096) made more in Cleveland history.
Up next The Suns visit Brooklyn on Wednesday, while the Cavaliers play in Houston that night. Cleveland is traveling a day early to get ahead of a winter storm forecast to hit Texas.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECP C. Porter Jr.
DG D. Garland
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
EB E. Bates
GN G. Niang
JA J. Allen
JT J. Thor
JT J. Tyson
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
TJ T. Jerome
TT T. Thompson
PHXBB B. Beal
BB B. Bol
DB D. Booker
DL D. Lee
GA G. Allen
KD K. Durant
MM M. Morris
MP M. Plumlee
NR N. Richards
OI O. Ighodaro
RD R. Dunn
RO R. O'Neale
TJ T. Jones
CLE/PHX 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
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