Game ID: 22400997
Cleveland Cavaliers @ LA Clippers
Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at 10:30 PM ET
Intuit Dome, Inglewood, CA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAC 37 31 38 26 132CLE 45 28 29 17 119
CLE @ LAC ScoutingCLE @ LAC 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.
LAC availability going into 3/11 · 1 day's restOUT Powell missed 4 since 3/04, out tonight
OUT Simmons missed 5 since 3/02, out tonight
OUT Miller missed 2 since 3/07, out tonight
BACK Jones Jr. back 3/07 after 3, 23 min since (95% of 24)
NEW Leonard 33 to 38 min over the last 4
NEW Dunn 24 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Bogdanović 23 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Batum 18 to 24 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 3/12 · back-to-backOUT Powell missed 5 since 3/04, out tonight
OUT Simmons missed 6 since 3/02, out tonight
OUT Miller missed 3 since 3/07, returns tonight: 7 min (67% of 11)
BACK Jones Jr. back 3/07 after 3, 24 min since (99% of 24)
NEW Zubac 33 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Dunn 24 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Bogdanović 23 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Batum 18 to 26 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 3/14 · 1 day's restOUT Powell missed 6 since 3/04, out tonight
OUT Simmons missed 7 since 3/02, returns tonight: 17 min (119% of 15)
BACK Jones Jr. back 3/07 after 3, 24 min since (99% of 24)
BACK Miller back 3/12 after 3, 7 min since (67% of 11)
NEW Zubac 33 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Leonard 33 to 38 min over the last 3
NEW Bogdanović 23 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Batum 18 to 30 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 3/16 · 1 day's restOUT Powell missed 7 since 3/04, returns tonight: 23 min (69% of 33)
BACK Jones Jr. back 3/07 after 3, 23 min since (98% of 24)
BACK Simmons back 3/14 after 7, 17 min since (119% of 15)
BACK Miller back 3/12 after 3, 7 min since (67% of 11)
NEW Batum 18 to 29 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 3/18 · 1 day's restOUT Miller missed 2 since 3/14, out tonight
BACK Powell back 3/16 after 7, 23 min since (69% of 33)
BACK Simmons back 3/14 after 7, 16 min since (110% of 15)
NEW Batum 18 to 25 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 3/21 · 2 days' restOUT Miller missed 3 since 3/14, out tonight
BACK Powell back 3/16 after 7, 20 min since (61% of 33)
BACK Simmons back 3/14 after 7, 15 min since (103% of 15)
NEW Batum 18 to 23 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 3/23 · 1 day's restOUT Miller missed 4 since 3/14, out tonight
BACK Powell back 3/16 after 7, 22 min since (68% of 33)
BACK Simmons back 3/14 after 7, 15 min since (100% of 15)
LAC availability going into 3/26 · 2 days' restOUT Miller missed 5 since 3/14, out tonight
BACK Powell back 3/16 after 7, 25 min since (75% of 33)
BACK Simmons back 3/14 after 7, 15 min since (100% of 15)
LAC availability going into 3/28 · 1 day's restOUT Miller missed 6 since 3/14, out tonight
BACK Powell back 3/16 after 7, 26 min since (79% of 33)
CLE availability going into 3/09 · 1 day's restOUT Tomlin missed 5 since 2/28, out tonight
BACK Garland back 2/28 after 2, 33 min since (107% of 31)
CLE availability going into 3/11 · 1 day's restOUT Tomlin missed 6 since 2/28, out tonight
CLE availability going into 3/14 · 2 days' restOUT Tomlin missed 7 since 2/28, out tonight
CLE availability going into 3/16 · 1 day's restOUT Mitchell missed 2 since 3/11, returns tonight: 34 min (109% of 32)
OUT Tomlin missed 8 since 2/28, out tonight
CLE availability going into 3/18 · 1 day's restOUT Tomlin missed 9 since 2/28, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 3/16 after 2, 34 min since (109% of 32)
CLE availability going into 3/19 · back-to-backOUT Tomlin missed 10 since 2/28, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 3/16 after 2, 34 min since (107% of 32)
CLE availability going into 3/21 · 1 day's restOUT Tomlin missed 11 since 2/28, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 3/16 after 2, 34 min since (107% of 32)
CLE availability going into 3/23 · 1 day's restOUT Tomlin missed 12 since 2/28, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 3/16 after 2, 33 min since (105% of 32)
CLE availability going into 3/25 · 1 day's restOUT Tomlin missed 13 since 2/28, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 3/16 after 2, 31 min since (97% of 32)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 105, shooting 53 percent and 41 from three, 22 free throws a game; Harden at 27 and Leonard at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 30 free throws a game; Mitchell at 21 and Garland at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the arc, the Clippers at 41 percent from three to Cleveland's 32 and the line, where Cleveland takes 30 free throws a game to the Clippers' 22. Call it the Clippers 114, Cleveland 112, Cleveland keeping it close.
3/11 @ NOP 120-127 — LAC notes
LAC lost 120-127. LAC shot 50% (46 of 92) to NOP's 55%, 14 of 42 from three. LAC turned it over 11 times to NOP's 19. The glass went 34-46 against them. Leonard led with 29 (12 of 20, 4 of 8 from three); Harden added 25, Zubac 19. Q3 was theirs, 39-37, the deficit cut from 10 to 8, but the other 3 periods went 90-81 against them. Coffey's -20 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/12 @ MIA 119-104 — LAC notes
LAC won 119-104. LAC shot 59% (45 of 76) to MIA's 48%, 13 of 27 from three, and went to the line 24 times to MIA's 14 — 16 points from the stripe to their 10. LAC turned it over 16 times to MIA's 10, and MIA turned those into 14 steals. The glass went 45-29 for them. Bogdanović led with 30 (11 of 16, 4 of 7 from three); Zubac added 26, Harden 24. The hinge was Q1, 30-20: from level to 10 ahead, and the lead reached 18. Bogdanović was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
3/14 @ ATL 121-98 — LAC notes
LAC won 121-98. LAC shot 55% (47 of 86) to ATL's 42%, 12 of 27 from three. LAC turned it over 13 times to ATL's 18. Harden led with 25 (8 of 14, 4 of 8 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Leonard added 25, Zubac 18. The hinge was Q3, 35-8: LAC came in trailing by 8 and left it ahead by 19, and the lead reached 23. LAC trailed 53-61 at the half and won the second half 68-37. Harden was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
3/16 vs CHA 123-88 — LAC notes
LAC won 123-88. LAC shot 48% (45 of 93) to CHA's 39%, 13 of 26 from three, and went to the line 23 times to CHA's 9 — 20 points from the stripe to their 8. The glass went 58-44 for them. Harden led with 31 (9 of 15, 4 of 7 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Leonard added 23, Zubac 17. The hinge was Q2, 33-20: a lead of 11 became 24, and the lead reached 38. Harden was the night's best plus/minus at +36.
3/18 vs CLE 132-119 — LAC notes
LAC won 132-119. LAC shot 55% (46 of 84) to CLE's 49%, 16 of 35 from three. The glass went 49-29 for them. Leonard led with 33 (12 of 19, 5 of 6 from three); Zubac added 28, Harden 22. The hinge was Q3, 38-29: LAC came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 4. LAC trailed 68-73 at the half and won the second half 64-46. Bogdanović was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
3/21 vs MEM — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 107, shooting 53 percent and 43 from three, 23 free throws a game; Leonard at 28 and Harden at 25 a game. That is 4 straight wins. They have won the glass by 7 a night. 2 days' rest. Memphis comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 117, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Bane at 23 and Jackson Jr. at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Morant (3 straight), Jackson (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the glass, where the Clippers have been plus-7 a night and Memphis minus-4 and the defense, the Clippers allowing 107 a night to Memphis's 117. Call it the Clippers 118, Memphis 113.
3/23 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 5-0 over their last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 103, shooting 55 percent and 48 from three, 24 free throws a game; Harden at 26 and Leonard at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. They have won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest. OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 106, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 24 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 36 and Holmgren at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. Without Jal. Williams (5 straight), Dort (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the arc, the Clippers at 48 percent from three to OKC's 41. Call it the Clippers 114, OKC 113, OKC keeping it close.
3/26 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 18 free throws a game; Towns at 27 and Anunoby at 21 a game. Without Brunson (9 straight), McBride (2 straight), Tucker (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 103, shooting 52 percent and 45 from three, 25 free throws a game; Leonard at 26 and Harden at 25 a game. They have won the glass by 8 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: The Clippers win, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where the Clippers have been plus-8 a night and New York minus-2 and the arc, the Clippers at 45 percent from three to New York's 35. Call it the Clippers 113, New York 111, New York keeping it close.
3/28 @ BKN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Brooklyn comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 97 a night and allowing 111, shooting 41 percent and 29 from three, 17 free throws a game; C. Johnson at 16 and Russell at 15 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Thomas (7 straight), Evbuomwan (15 straight), Etienne (12 straight). One day's rest. The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 106, shooting 51 percent and 46 from three, 26 free throws a game; Leonard at 26 and Harden at 26 a game. They have won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where the Clippers have been plus-10 a night and Brooklyn minus-8 and the arc, the Clippers at 46 percent from three to Brooklyn's 29. Call it the Clippers 113, Brooklyn 105.
3/09 @ MIL 112-100 — CLE notes
CLE won 112-100. CLE shot 44% (39 of 88) to MIL's 43%, 19 of 47 from three. Strus led with 17 (6 of 11, 5 of 9 from three); Mitchell added 15, Garland 13. The hinge was Q2, 28-20: a lead of 2 became 10, and the lead reached 19. Wade was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
3/11 vs BKN 109-104 — CLE notes
CLE won 109-104. CLE shot 44% (39 of 89) to BKN's 46%, 10 of 42 from three, and went to the line 25 times to BKN's 14 — 21 points from the stripe to their 10. The glass went 48-38 for them. Garland led with 30 (11 of 24, 3 of 11 from three); Allen added 23, Mobley 21. The hinge was Q4, 31-18: CLE came in trailing by 8 and left it ahead by 5. CLE trailed 50-63 at the half and won the second half 59-41. Garland was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
3/14 @ MEM 133-124 — CLE notes
CLE won 133-124. CLE shot 50% (44 of 88) to MEM's 49%, 19 of 51 from three, and went to the line 33 times to MEM's 21 — 26 points from the stripe to their 17. Mobley led with 22 (9 of 16, 3 of 6 from three); Garland added 20, Hunter 18. The hinge was Q2, 39-29: a lead of 7 became 17, and the lead reached 25. Garland was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
3/16 vs ORL 103-108 — CLE notes
CLE lost 103-108. CLE took 15 more shots (96 to 81), fed by 16 offensive rebounds, but shot 42% to ORL's 42%, 10 of 40 from three, and got to the line 20 times to ORL's 34. Mitchell led with 23 (9 of 28, 3 of 14 from three); Allen added 20, Garland 19. Q1 was theirs, 38-25, but the other 3 periods went 83-65 against them. They led by as many as 13. Jerome's -9 in 25 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/18 @ LAC 119-132 — CLE notes
CLE lost 119-132. CLE shot 49% (44 of 90) to LAC's 55%, 14 of 41 from three. The glass went 29-49 against them. Strus led with 24 (8 of 12, 5 of 8 from three); Mitchell added 18, Garland 17. Q1 was theirs, 45-37, but the other 3 periods went 95-74 against them. They led by as many as 12. Mobley's -27 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/19 @ SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 124, shooting 47 percent and 34 from three, 25 free throws a game; DeRozan at 22 and LaVine at 21 a game. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 114, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 25 free throws a game; Garland at 20 and Mitchell at 19 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 114 a night to Sacramento's 124. Call it Cleveland 118, Sacramento 115, Sacramento keeping it close.
3/21 @ PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 107, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 19 free throws a game; Booker at 26 and Durant at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Beal (2 straight), Allen (5 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 118, shooting 48 percent and 32 from three, 24 free throws a game; Mobley at 23 and Mitchell at 22 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the arc, Phoenix at 41 percent from three to Cleveland's 32 and the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-5 a night and Cleveland minus-3. Call it Phoenix 116, Cleveland 115, Cleveland keeping it close.
3/23 @ UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Utah comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 120, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 20 free throws a game; Sexton at 20 and George at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Collins (5 straight), Martin (4 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 122, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mobley at 22 and Garland at 18 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, Utah giving it away 18 times a game to Cleveland's 12. Call it Cleveland 119, Utah 115, Utah keeping it close.
3/25 @ POR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Portland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 107, shooting 45 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Avdija at 24 and Simons at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Grant (7 straight), Ayton (18 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 31 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mobley at 19 and Mitchell at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: Portland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Portland has been plus-7 a night and Cleveland minus-5 and the turnovers, Portland giving it away 15 times a game to Cleveland's 10. Call it Portland 115, Cleveland 113, Cleveland keeping it close.
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
LACAC A. Coffey
BB B. Bogdanović
BS B. Simmons
DJ D. Jones Jr.
IZ I. Zubac
JH J. Harden
KD K. Dunn
KL K. Leonard
NB N. Batum
NP N. Powell
CLE/LAC 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
Clippers rally past Cavaliers 132-119, handing East leaders a second straight loss
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- — Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points and the Los Angeles Clippers handed the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers their second straight loss, 132-119 on Tuesday night.
Ivica Zubac had 28 points and 20 rebounds and James Harden added 22 points and nine assists in the Clippers’ fourth straight victory.
Max Strus scored a season-high 24 points for the Cavs, whose 16-game winning streak ended Sunday against Orlando . Their NBA-best road record dropped to 26-7 after they led by 12 in a 45-point first quarter.
Donovan Mitchell had 18 points and 11 assists and Evan Mobley scored 17 points in his return from a one-game absence with a foot contusion.
Takeaways Cavaliers: Despite losing two in a row for the first time since Jan. 22-25 when they dropped three straight, they still have a comfortable lead in the East with less a month left in the regular season.
Clippers: Playing without injured coach Tyronn Lue for the fourth time recently, they clawed back from a 12-point deficit early to pull off one of their biggest wins of the season. They'll need that kind of scrappy mindset to hang on to a playoff spot.
Key moment The Clippers put together a 20-3 run over the end of the third and start of the fourth, turning a one-point back-and-forth into a 12-point lead in the final quarter. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored seven in the spurt and finished with 20 points off the bench.
Key stat The Clippers controlled the boards, 49-29, and the Cavs were 17 of 26 from the free-throw line.
Up next The Cavaliers visit Sacramento on Wednesday to finish a back-to-back. The Clippers host Memphis on Friday.