Game ID: 22400615
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Houston Rockets
Wednesday, January 22, 2025 at 8:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 39 22 33 15 109CLE 32 21 30 25 108
CLE @ HOU ScoutingCLE @ HOU 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.
HOU availability going into 1/15 · 1 day's restOUT Smith Jr. missed 5 since 1/03, out tonight
OUT Eason missed 12 since 12/19, out tonight
OUT Dante missed 38 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Sheppard missed 4 since 1/05, returns tonight: 6 min (51% of 12)
OUT Landale missed 2 since 1/09, out tonight
OUT Jef. Green missed 2 since 1/09, returns tonight: 21 min (179% of 12)
BACK Thompson back 1/05 after 2, 40 min since (123% of 32)
NEW Whitmore 15 to 21 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 1/16 · back-to-backOUT Smith Jr. missed 6 since 1/03, out tonight
OUT Eason missed 13 since 12/19, returns tonight: 24 min (101% of 24)
OUT Dante missed 39 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Landale missed 3 since 1/09, out tonight
BACK Thompson back 1/05 after 2, 39 min since (120% of 32)
BACK Sheppard back 1/15 after 4, 6 min since (51% of 12)
BACK Jef. Green back 1/15 after 2, 21 min since (179% of 12)
HOU availability going into 1/18 · 1 day's restOUT Smith Jr. missed 7 since 1/03, out tonight
OUT Dante missed 40 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Landale missed 4 since 1/09, out tonight
BACK Eason back 1/16 after 13, 24 min since (101% of 24)
BACK Sheppard back 1/15 after 4, 6 min since (51% of 12)
BACK Jef. Green back 1/15 after 2, 22 min since (188% of 12)
NEW Thompson 32 to 39 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 1/20 · 1 day's restOUT Smith Jr. missed 8 since 1/03, out tonight
OUT Dante missed 41 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Landale missed 5 since 1/09, returns tonight: 10 min (87% of 12)
BACK Eason back 1/16 after 13, 24 min since (99% of 24)
BACK Sheppard back 1/15 after 4, 6 min since (46% of 12)
BACK Jef. Green back 1/15 after 2, 22 min since (188% of 12)
NEW Thompson 32 to 38 min over the last 4
NEW Whitmore 15 to 22 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 1/22 · 1 day's restOUT Smith Jr. missed 9 since 1/03, out tonight
OUT Dante missed 42 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Jef. Green missed 2 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Eason back 1/16 after 13, 25 min since (102% of 24)
BACK Sheppard back 1/15 after 4, 6 min since (46% of 12)
BACK Landale back 1/20 after 5, 10 min since (87% of 12)
NEW Thompson 32 to 39 min over the last 4
NEW Whitmore 15 to 23 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 1/25 · 2 days' restOUT Smith Jr. missed 10 since 1/03, out tonight
OUT Dante missed 43 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Sheppard missed 2 since 1/20, out tonight
OUT Jef. Green missed 3 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Eason back 1/16 after 13, 24 min since (98% of 24)
BACK Landale back 1/20 after 5, 10 min since (87% of 12)
NEW Thompson 32 to 38 min over the last 4
NEW Whitmore 15 to 23 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 1/27 · 1 day's restOUT Smith Jr. missed 11 since 1/03, out tonight
OUT Dante missed 44 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Holiday missed 2 since 1/22, returns tonight: 15 min (116% of 13)
OUT Sheppard missed 3 since 1/20, out tonight
OUT Landale missed 2 since 1/22, out tonight
OUT Jef. Green missed 4 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Eason back 1/16 after 13, 23 min since (96% of 24)
NEW Thompson 32 to 40 min over the last 4
HOU availability going into 1/28 · back-to-backOUT Smith Jr. missed 12 since 1/03, out tonight
OUT Dante missed 45 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Sheppard missed 4 since 1/20, out tonight
OUT Landale missed 3 since 1/22, returns tonight: 16 min (139% of 12)
OUT Jef. Green missed 5 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 1/27 after 2, 15 min since (116% of 13)
NEW Thompson 32 to 40 min over the last 4
HOU availability going into 1/30 · 1 day's restOUT Smith Jr. missed 13 since 1/03, out tonight
OUT Dante missed 46 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Sheppard missed 5 since 1/20, out tonight
OUT Jef. Green missed 6 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 1/27 after 2, 16 min since (125% of 13)
BACK Landale back 1/20 after 5, 13 min since (113% of 12)
NEW Thompson 32 to 38 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/14 · 1 day's restBACK Merrill back 1/09 after 3, 12 min since (62% of 20)
BACK Okoro back 1/08 after 8, 13 min since (70% of 18)
CLE availability going into 1/16 · 1 day's restOUT Jerome missed 2 since 1/12, returns tonight: 16 min (81% of 20)
BACK Merrill back 1/09 after 3, 12 min since (62% of 20)
BACK Okoro back 1/08 after 8, 11 min since (61% of 18)
CLE availability going into 1/18 · 1 day's restBACK Jerome back 1/16 after 2, 16 min since (81% of 20)
BACK Merrill back 1/09 after 3, 12 min since (61% of 20)
BACK Okoro back 1/08 after 8, 14 min since (74% of 18)
CLE availability going into 1/20 · 1 day's restBACK Jerome back 1/16 after 2, 19 min since (95% of 20)
BACK Merrill back 1/09 after 3, 11 min since (56% of 20)
CLE availability going into 1/22 · 1 day's restOUT Mobley missed 2 since 1/18, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 2 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Jerome back 1/16 after 2, 19 min since (97% of 20)
CLE availability going into 1/24 · 1 day's restOUT Mobley missed 3 since 1/18, out tonight
OUT LeVert missed 2 since 1/20, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 3 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Jerome back 1/16 after 2, 21 min since (103% of 20)
CLE availability going into 1/25 · back-to-backOUT Mobley missed 4 since 1/18, returns tonight: 29 min (94% of 31)
OUT LeVert missed 3 since 1/20, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 4 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Jerome back 1/16 after 2, 23 min since (116% of 20)
CLE availability going into 1/27 · 1 day's restOUT LeVert missed 4 since 1/20, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 5 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Mobley back 1/25 after 4, 29 min since (94% of 31)
CLE availability going into 1/29 · 1 day's restOUT LeVert missed 5 since 1/20, out tonight
OUT Wade missed 2 since 1/25, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 6 since 1/18, out tonight
BACK Mobley back 1/25 after 4, 28 min since (93% of 31)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 114, shooting 48 percent and 41 from three, 22 free throws a game; Green at 30 and Sengun at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Smith Jr. (9 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 114, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 24 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Garland at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Mobley (2 straight), Okoro (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 41 percent from three to Cleveland's 34. Call it Houston 116, Cleveland 113, Cleveland keeping it close.
1/15 @ DEN 128-108 — HOU notes
HOU won 128-108. HOU shot 52% (49 of 94) to DEN's 53%, 17 of 38 from three. HOU turned it over 8 times to DEN's 18. J. Green led with 34 (10 of 16, 6 of 10 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Sengun added 20, VanVleet 16. The hinge was Q2, 41-25: a lead of 5 became 21, and the lead reached 24. Thompson was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
1/16 @ SAC 127-132 — HOU notes
HOU lost 127-132. HOU shot 53% (49 of 93) to SAC's 50%, 12 of 33 from three. Ja. Green led with 28 (10 of 20, 4 of 8 from three); Sengun added 21, Thompson 20. Q3 was theirs, 33-29, the deficit cut from 9 to 5, but the other 3 periods went 103-94 against them. Sengun's -21 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/18 @ POR 125-103 — HOU notes
HOU won 125-103. HOU shot 44% (48 of 108) to POR's 45%, 14 of 31 from three. HOU turned it over 12 times to POR's 19. The glass went 61-40 for them. Green led with 26 (10 of 17, 4 of 6 from three); Sengun added 23, Brooks 22. The hinge was Q3, 36-24: a lead of 1 became 13, and the lead reached 24. Green was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
1/20 vs DET 96-107 — HOU notes
HOU lost 96-107. HOU shot 39% (37 of 94) to DET's 48%, 11 of 39 from three. HOU turned it over 16 times to DET's 22. The glass went 39-52 against them. VanVleet led with 20 (7 of 15, 5 of 13 from three); Green added 19, Thompson 17. Q2 was theirs, 28-17, the deficit cut from 11 to 0, but the other 3 periods went 90-68 against them. Green's -22 in 30 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/22 vs CLE 109-108 — HOU notes
HOU won 109-108. HOU shot 44% (40 of 91) to CLE's 42%, 15 of 34 from three. HOU turned it over 22 times to CLE's 13, and CLE turned those into 12 steals. VanVleet led with 26 (8 of 15, 7 of 12 from three); Sengun added 18, A. Thompson 16. The hinge was Q1, 39-32: from level to 7 ahead. Eason was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
1/25 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 117, shooting 45 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and Garland at 23 a game. Without Mobley (4 straight), LeVert (3 straight), Okoro (4 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Houston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 112, shooting 46 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Green at 23 and Sengun at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Smith Jr. (10 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Cleveland 116, Houston 115, Houston keeping it close.
1/27 @ BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 108, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 18 free throws a game; Tatum at 22 and Brown at 21 a game. One day's rest. Houston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 116, shooting 47 percent and 39 from three, 25 free throws a game; Green at 22 and Sengun at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Smith Jr. (11 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the line, where Houston takes 25 free throws a game to Boston's 18 and the glass, where Houston has been plus-5 a night and Boston minus-1. Call it Boston 115, Houston 111, Houston keeping it close.
1/28 @ ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 114, shooting 42 percent and 30 from three, 24 free throws a game; Hunter at 19 and Young at 18 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Johnson (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Houston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 112, shooting 45 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Thompson at 22 and Green at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Smith Jr. (12 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Houston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 40 percent from three to Atlanta's 30 and the turnovers, Atlanta giving it away 19 times a game to Houston's 14. Call it Houston 115, Atlanta 111, Atlanta keeping it close.
1/30 @ MEM — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Memphis comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 120, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Jackson Jr. at 25 and Bane at 20 a game. Without Smart (18 straight), Williams Jr. (32 straight). 2 days' rest. Houston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 111, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 24 free throws a game; Thompson at 20 and Green at 18 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Smith Jr. (13 straight). One day's rest.
So: Memphis wins, and the game turns on the defense, Houston allowing 111 a night to Memphis's 120. Call it Memphis 117, Houston 114, Houston keeping it close.
1/14 @ IND 127-117 — CLE notes
CLE won 127-117. CLE shot 48% (43 of 89) to IND's 48%, 15 of 44 from three, and went to the line 31 times to IND's 22 — 26 points from the stripe to their 17. The glass went 49-37 for them. Mitchell led with 35 (12 of 23, 3 of 9 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Garland added 24, Mobley 22. The hinge was Q3, 38-28: a lead of 1 became 11, and the lead reached 15. Mitchell was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
1/16 @ OKC 114-134 — CLE notes
CLE lost 114-134. CLE shot 47% (42 of 90) to OKC's 50%, 13 of 42 from three, and went to the line 21 times to OKC's 11 — 17 points from the stripe to their 10. CLE turned it over 21 times to OKC's 6, and OKC turned those into 12 steals. The glass went 49-39 for them. Garland led with 20 (7 of 10, 1 of 4 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Allen added 13, Jerome 12. Q4 was theirs, 33-15, the deficit cut from 38 to 20, but the other 3 periods went 119-81 against them. Strus's -30 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/18 @ MIN 124-117 — CLE notes
CLE won 124-117. CLE shot 46% (42 of 92) to MIN's 48%, 17 of 48 from three, and went to the line 25 times to MIN's 19 — 23 points from the stripe to their 16. Mitchell led with 36 (12 of 27, 4 of 15 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Garland added 29, Niang 15. The hinge was Q3, 29-19: from level to 10 ahead, and the lead reached 20. Jerome was the night's best plus/minus at +28.
1/20 vs PHX 118-92 — CLE notes
CLE won 118-92. CLE shot 43% (41 of 95) to PHX's 47%, 19 of 46 from three, and went to the line 23 times to PHX's 13 — 17 points from the stripe to their 10. CLE turned it over 8 times to PHX's 17. The glass went 50-34 for them. Mitchell led with 33 (11 of 25, 4 of 9 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Garland added 16, Allen 12. The hinge was Q2, 32-19: from level to 13 ahead, and the lead reached 32. Mitchell was the night's best plus/minus at +28.
1/22 @ HOU 108-109 — CLE notes
CLE lost 108-109. CLE shot 42% (41 of 97) to HOU's 44%, 13 of 41 from three. CLE turned it over 13 times to HOU's 22. Garland led with 26 (10 of 21, 3 of 6 from three, 3 of 8 at the line); Mitchell added 19, Jerome 18. Q4 was theirs, 25-15, the deficit cut from 11 to 1, but the other 3 periods went 94-83 against them. They led by as many as 11.
1/24 @ PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 125, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 17 free throws a game; Maxey at 32 and Yabusele at 16 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 13 a night. Without C. Martin (6 straight), Embiid (9 straight), Lowry (9 straight). 2 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 114, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Garland at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Mobley (3 straight), LeVert (2 straight), Okoro (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-7 a night and Philadelphia minus-13 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 114 a night to Philadelphia's 125. Call it Cleveland 118, Philadelphia 112.
1/25 vs HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 117, shooting 45 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and Garland at 23 a game. Without Mobley (4 straight), LeVert (3 straight), Okoro (4 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Houston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 112, shooting 46 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Green at 23 and Sengun at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Smith Jr. (10 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Cleveland 116, Houston 115, Houston keeping it close.
1/27 vs DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 117, shooting 46 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 32 and Garland at 27 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without LeVert (4 straight), Okoro (5 straight). One day's rest. Detroit comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 111, shooting 46 percent and 32 from three, 24 free throws a game; Cunningham at 27 and Duren at 14 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Detroit giving it away 17 times a game to Cleveland's 11 and the arc, Cleveland at 40 percent from three to Detroit's 32. Call it Cleveland 118, Detroit 112.
1/29 @ MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 113, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Herro at 24 and Ware at 19 a game. Without Richardson (32 straight), Burks (3 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 112, shooting 46 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 29 and Garland at 26 a game. Without LeVert (5 straight), Wade (2 straight), Okoro (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Cleveland 115, Miami 113, Miami keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
HOUAS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
CW C. Whitmore
DB D. Brooks
FV F. VanVleet
JG J. Green
JT J. Tate
JG Ja. Green
SA S. Adams
TE T. Eason
CLEDG D. Garland
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
GN G. Niang
JA J. Allen
JT J. Tyson
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
TJ T. Jerome
TT T. Thompson
HOU/CLE 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
Sengun makes late free throws and Garland misses 2 as Rockets outlast Cavs, 109-108
HOUSTON -- — Alperen Sengun made two free throws with 4.5 seconds left and Darius Garland missed two of three free throws after that to allow the Houston Rockets to hold on for a 109-108 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
Fred VanVleet had 26 points as Houston rallied late after squandering a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter.
A flagrant foul by Tari Eason on a 3-point attempt by Garland gave him three free throws with 2.1 seconds left. But he missed the first two before making the third to cut the lead to a point. The Cavaliers had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Donovan Mitchell’s 3-point attempt was off.
Mitchell missed a shot with less than 10 seconds to go. Sengun grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Jarrett Allen to set up the winning free throws.
Houston led by 13 with about 11 minutes left before the Cavaliers used an 19-0 run to take a 104-98 lead with about four minutes to go.
VanVleet ended a Houston scoring drought of more than seven minutes with a 3 after that and tied it at 104-104 with another 3-pointer on the next possession.
Garland led the the NBA-leading Cavaliers with 26 points. They they lost on the road for just the fifth time this season.
Takeaways Cavaliers: Cleveland missed the rebounding of Evan Mobley , who averages 8.8 rebounds a game and missed his third straight game with a calf injury. The Cavs were outrebounded 53-45.
Rockets: Must avoid scoring droughts like they had Wednesday night if they expect to keep winning games against good teams.
Key moment Garland missing the first two of his three free throws that would have put Cleveland on top.
Key stat The Cavaliers missed six free throws, including the two by Garland late.
Up next The Cavaliers visit the 76ers on Friday night before hosting the Rockets on Saturday night in Houston’s next game.