Game ID: 22401138
Sacramento Kings @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Sunday, April 6, 2025 at 6:00 PM ET
Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 27 30 22 34 113SAC 31 25 35 29 120
CLE vs SAC ScoutingCLE vs SAC 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 3/28 · back-to-backOUT Tomlin missed 15 since 2/28, out tonight
CLE availability going into 3/30 · 1 day's restOUT Jerome missed 2 since 3/27, out tonight
OUT Tomlin missed 16 since 2/28, out tonight
CLE availability going into 4/02 · 2 days' restOUT Jerome missed 3 since 3/27, out tonight
OUT Tomlin missed 17 since 2/28, returns tonight: 2 min (17% of 13)
CLE availability going into 4/04 · 1 day's restOUT Jerome missed 4 since 3/27, out tonight
BACK Tomlin back 4/02 after 17, 2 min since (17% of 13)
CLE availability going into 4/06 · 1 day's restOUT Wade missed 2 since 4/02, returns tonight: 4 min (17% of 20)
OUT Jerome missed 5 since 3/27, returns tonight: 23 min (116% of 20)
BACK Tomlin back 4/02 after 17, 2 min since (17% of 13)
CLE availability going into 4/08 · 1 day's restOUT Tomlin missed 2 since 4/04, out tonight
BACK Wade back 4/06 after 2, 4 min since (17% of 20)
BACK Jerome back 4/06 after 5, 23 min since (116% of 20)
CLE availability going into 4/10 · 1 day's restOUT Tomlin missed 3 since 4/04, out tonight
BACK Wade back 4/06 after 2, 12 min since (59% of 20)
BACK Jerome back 4/06 after 5, 22 min since (111% of 20)
CLE availability going into 4/11 · back-to-backOUT Mitchell missed 2 since 4/08, out tonight
OUT Tomlin missed 4 since 4/04, out tonight
BACK Wade back 4/06 after 2, 18 min since (87% of 20)
BACK Jerome back 4/06 after 5, 23 min since (117% of 20)
CLE availability going into 4/13 · 1 day's restOUT Mitchell missed 3 since 4/08, out tonight
OUT Tomlin missed 5 since 4/04, returns tonight: 47 min (369% of 13)
BACK Wade back 4/06 after 2, 20 min since (98% of 20)
BACK Jerome back 4/06 after 5, 23 min since (117% of 20)
SAC availability going into 3/29 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 33 since 1/16, returns tonight: 7 min (58% of 11)
BACK Sabonis back 3/24 after 3, 35 min since (101% of 35)
BACK Monk back 3/27 after 3, 17 min since (55% of 32)
NEW Ellis 24 to 32 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 3/31 · 1 day's restBACK Sabonis back 3/24 after 3, 34 min since (97% of 35)
BACK Monk back 3/27 after 3, 20 min since (63% of 32)
BACK Crowder back 3/29 after 33, 7 min since (58% of 11)
NEW Ellis 24 to 32 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/02 · 1 day's restBACK Sabonis back 3/24 after 3, 35 min since (101% of 35)
BACK Monk back 3/27 after 3, 23 min since (72% of 32)
BACK Crowder back 3/29 after 33, 7 min since (58% of 11)
NEW Ellis 24 to 30 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/04 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 2 since 3/31, returns tonight: 5 min (40% of 11)
OUT Carter missed 2 since 3/31, returns tonight: 14 min (126% of 11)
BACK Monk back 3/27 after 3, 26 min since (82% of 32)
SAC availability going into 4/06 · 1 day's restBACK Monk back 3/27 after 3, 25 min since (80% of 32)
BACK Crowder back 3/29 after 33, 6 min since (49% of 11)
BACK Carter back 4/04 after 2, 14 min since (126% of 11)
SAC availability going into 4/07 · back-to-backBACK Crowder back 3/29 after 33, 6 min since (49% of 11)
BACK Carter back 4/04 after 2, 10 min since (94% of 11)
SAC availability going into 4/09 · 1 day's restOUT Murray missed 2 since 4/06, out tonight
OUT Crowder missed 2 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Carter back 4/04 after 2, 14 min since (128% of 11)
NEW Ellis 24 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Lyles 20 to 26 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/11 · 1 day's restOUT Murray missed 3 since 4/06, returns tonight: 32 min (93% of 34)
OUT Crowder missed 3 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Carter back 4/04 after 2, 15 min since (137% of 11)
NEW Ellis 24 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Lyles 20 to 31 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/13 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 4 since 4/06, out tonight
BACK Murray back 4/11 after 3, 32 min since (93% of 34)
BACK Carter back 4/04 after 2, 15 min since (138% of 11)
NEW Ellis 24 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Lyles 20 to 33 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 122 a night and allowing 118, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Mitchell at 28 and Allen at 17 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Wade (2 straight), Jerome (5 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; DeRozan at 25 and Sabonis at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Sacramento allowing 111 a night to Cleveland's 118. Call it Cleveland 119, Sacramento 114.
3/28 @ DET 122-133 — CLE notes
CLE lost 122-133. CLE shot 46% (39 of 84) to DET's 48%, 15 of 40 from three. Mitchell led with 38 (12 of 24, 3 of 8 from three, 11 of 13 at the line); Garland added 21, Hunter 11. Q4 was theirs, 39-32, the deficit cut from 18 to 11, but the other 3 periods went 101-83 against them. Mobley's -23 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/30 vs LAC 127-122 — CLE notes
CLE won 127-122. CLE shot 51% (47 of 93) to LAC's 48%, 15 of 45 from three. Allen led with 25 (11 of 12, 3 of 6 at the line); Mitchell added 24, Mobley 22. The hinge was Q1, 37-24: from level to 13 ahead, and the lead reached 18. Mobley was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
4/02 vs NYK 124-105 — CLE notes
CLE won 124-105. CLE shot 53% (50 of 94) to NYK's 44%, 12 of 37 from three. Mitchell led with 27 (10 of 18, 3 of 7 from three); Allen added 21, Garland 17. The hinge was Q3, 38-25: CLE came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 6, and the lead reached 21. CLE trailed 53-60 at the half and won the second half 71-45. Mobley was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
4/04 @ SAS 114-113 — CLE notes
CLE won 114-113. CLE shot 47% (41 of 87) to SAS's 44%, 22 of 51 from three. Mitchell led with 26 (8 of 18, 6 of 11 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); Mobley added 25, Garland 19. The hinge was Q1, 38-28: from level to 10 ahead, and the lead reached 23.
4/06 vs SAC 113-120 — CLE notes
CLE lost 113-120. CLE shot 52% (46 of 88) to SAC's 54%, 10 of 38 from three. Jerome led with 20 (9 of 13, 1 of 4 from three); Mitchell added 19, Allen 17. Q2 was theirs, 30-25, turning a 4-point deficit into a 1-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 95-83 against them. Hunter's -28 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/08 vs CHI — 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 119, shooting 50 percent and 35 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and Garland at 17 a game. One day's rest. Chicago comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 123, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 25 free throws a game; White at 26 and Vučević at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Ball (18 straight), Smith (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Chicago has been plus-7 a night and Cleveland plus-1. Call it Cleveland 122, Chicago 117.
4/10 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Turner at 20 and Siakam at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Sheppard (2 straight), Isa. Jackson (73 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 17 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Mobley at 19 a game. One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Cleveland giving it away 13 times a game to Indiana's 8 and the line, where Indiana takes 24 free throws a game to Cleveland's 17. Call it Indiana 117, Cleveland 116, Cleveland keeping it close.
4/11 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 18 free throws a game; Towns at 27 and Anunoby at 23 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 15 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Jerome at 21 a game. Without Mitchell (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the arc, Cleveland at 40 percent from three to New York's 36. Call it New York 116, Cleveland 115, Cleveland keeping it close.
4/13 vs IND — 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 116 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 18 free throws a game; Jerome at 21 and Garland at 20 a game. Without Mitchell (3 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 114, shooting 47 percent and 34 from three, 30 free throws a game; Turner at 19 and Siakam at 19 a game. Without Sheppard (4 straight), Isa. Jackson (75 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the line, where Indiana takes 30 free throws a game to Cleveland's 18 and the arc, Cleveland at 41 percent from three to Indiana's 34. Call it Cleveland 118, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
3/29 @ ORL 91-121 — SAC notes
SAC lost 91-121. SAC shot 42% (34 of 81) to ORL's 49%, 7 of 28 from three. DeRozan led with 21 (7 of 11, 2 of 3 from three); Sabonis added 14, LaVine 10. Q2 was theirs, 25-23, the deficit cut from 17 to 15, but the other 3 periods went 98-66 against them. Murray's -35 in 30 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/31 @ IND 109-111 — SAC notes
SAC lost 109-111. SAC shot 47% (43 of 92) to IND's 47%, 12 of 27 from three. DeRozan led with 31 (12 of 24, 2 of 6 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Sabonis added 25, LaVine 20. Q2 was theirs, 32-27, but the other 3 periods went 84-77 against them. They led by as many as 16. LaVine's -13 in 38 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/02 @ WAS 111-116 — SAC notes
SAC lost 111-116. SAC took 11 more shots (95 to 84), fed by 17 offensive rebounds, but shot 42% to WAS's 51%, 10 of 39 from three, and went to the line 28 times to WAS's 18 — 21 points from the stripe to their 13. DeRozan led with 29 (10 of 23, 1 of 5 from three, 8 of 12 at the line); Sabonis added 18, Murray 18. Q4 was theirs, 34-25, the deficit cut from 14 to 5, but the other 3 periods went 91-77 against them.
4/04 @ CHA 125-102 — SAC notes
SAC won 125-102. SAC shot 49% (45 of 91) to CHA's 40%, 16 of 36 from three, and got to the line 23 times to CHA's 34. SAC turned it over 6 times to CHA's 12. LaVine led with 25 (9 of 19, 4 of 7 from three); Sabonis added 24, DeRozan 22. The hinge was Q2, 42-31: a lead of 8 became 19, and the lead reached 30. Monk was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
4/06 @ CLE 120-113 — SAC notes
SAC won 120-113. SAC shot 54% (44 of 82) to CLE's 52%, 14 of 33 from three. LaVine led with 37 (15 of 21, 7 of 11 from three); DeRozan added 28, Sabonis 27. The hinge was Q3, 35-22: SAC came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 12. SAC trailed 56-57 at the half and won the second half 64-56. DeRozan was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
4/07 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 116, shooting 42 percent and 33 from three, 28 free throws a game; Hardaway Jr. at 21 and Beasley at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Harris (2 straight), Smith (16 straight), Harper Jr. (28 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 113, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; DeRozan at 26 and LaVine at 22 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-1 a night and Detroit minus-8 and the line, where Detroit takes 28 free throws a game to Sacramento's 22. Call it Detroit 116, Sacramento 112, Sacramento keeping it close.
4/09 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; DeRozan at 29 and LaVine at 29 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Murray (2 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 118, shooting 52 percent and 33 from three, 26 free throws a game; Jokić at 40 and Braun at 20 a game. That is 4 straight losses. Without Murray (5 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Sacramento wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Denver giving it away 17 times a game to Sacramento's 10 and the arc, Sacramento at 39 percent from three to Denver's 33. Call it Sacramento 119, Denver 115, Denver keeping it close.
4/11 vs LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 114, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; LaVine at 30 and DeRozan at 28 a game. Without Murray (3 straight). One day's rest. The Clippers come in 5-0 over their last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 105, shooting 53 percent and 45 from three, 19 free throws a game; Leonard at 25 and Harden at 24 a game. That is 5 straight wins. They have won the glass by 5 a night. Without Coffey (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, the Clippers at 45 percent from three to Sacramento's 39 and the defense, the Clippers allowing 105 a night to Sacramento's 114. Call it the Clippers 115, Sacramento 114, Sacramento keeping it close.
4/13 vs PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 21 free throws a game; LaVine at 32 and DeRozan at 25 a game. One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 118, shooting 44 percent and 31 from three, 15 free throws a game; Booker at 27 and Beal at 14 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, and the game turns on the arc, Sacramento at 41 percent from three to Phoenix's 31 and the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-3 a night and Phoenix minus-5. Call it Sacramento 118, Phoenix 111.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLEDG D. Garland
DH D. Hunter
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
IO I. Okoro
JA J. Allen
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
TJ T. Jerome
SACDC D. Carter
DD D. DeRozan
DS D. Sabonis
IJ I. Jones
JV J. Valančiūnas
KE K. Ellis
MM M. Monk
TL T. Lyles
ZL Z. LaVine
CLE/SAC 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
Zach LaVine scores 37 as Kings remain in position for a play-in spot after 120-113 win over Cavs
CLEVELAND -- — Zach LaVine scored 37 points, including 11 in the decisive fourth quarter, and the Sacramento Kings remained in position for a play-in spot with a 120-113 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night.
DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points and Domantas Sabonis added 27 points and nine rebounds for the Kings, who moved into ninth place in the Western Conference with their second straight victory.
Ty Jerome led Cleveland with 20 points and Donovan Mitchell added 19. Jerome saw his first action since March 25 after he had missed five games due to left knee tendinitis.
The Cavaliers had a three-game winning streak snapped and will have to wait at least one more game to wrap up the top seed in the Eastern Conference. They dropped to 62-16.
Sacramento trailed 106-105 with five minutes remaining before taking control of the game with a 13-5 run.
Takeaways Kings: DeRozan passed Jerry West (25,192) for 26th on the NBA's career scoring list with a free throw with 5:03 remaining in the third quarter. DeRozan, who is in his 16th season, has 25,209 points in 1,183 games.
Cavaliers: Mitchell appeared to injure his left ankle early in the second half. He went to the locker room, but returned to the bench and then came back into the game six minutes later.
Key moment Keon Ellis hit a halfcourt shot from 43 feet to get Sacramento to 57-56 at halftime. Ellis had one foot beyond the midcourt line when he released the shot.
Key stat Sacramento was 4 of 17 on 3-pointers during the first half but went 10 of 16 from beyond the arc in the second half. LaVine made all six of his attempts after halftime.
Up next The Kings wrap up their six-game road in Detroit on Monday night. The Cavaliers host Chicago on Tuesday night.