Game ID: 22500091
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Brooklyn Nets
Friday, October 24, 2025 at 7:30 PM ET
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
BKN 23 28 35 38 124CLE 34 29 45 23 131
BKN vs CLE ScoutingBKN vs CLE 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.
BKN availability going into 10/22 · season opener
full strength
BKN availability going into 10/24 · 1 day's rest
full strength
BKN availability going into 10/26 · 1 day's restOUT Wolf missed 2 since 10/22, out tonight
BKN availability going into 10/27 · back-to-backOUT Traore missed 2 since 10/24, returns tonight: 21 min (93% of 22)
OUT Powell missed 2 since 10/24, out tonight
OUT Wolf missed 3 since 10/22, out tonight
OUT Etienne missed 2 since 10/24, returns tonight: 5 min (34% of 16)
OUT Liddell missed 2 since 10/24, returns tonight: 5 min (40% of 13)
NEW Thomas 24 to 30 min over the last 3
BKN availability going into 10/29 · 1 day's restOUT Powell missed 3 since 10/24, out tonight
OUT Wolf missed 4 since 10/22, out tonight
BACK Traore back 10/27 after 2, 21 min since (93% of 22)
BACK Etienne back 10/27 after 2, 5 min since (34% of 16)
BACK Liddell back 10/27 after 2, 5 min since (40% of 13)
BKN availability going into 11/02 · 3 days' restOUT Williams missed 2 since 10/27, returns tonight: 20 min (89% of 23)
OUT Powell missed 4 since 10/24, returns tonight: 4 min (22% of 21)
OUT Wolf missed 5 since 10/22, out tonight
BACK Traore back 10/27 after 2, 21 min since (93% of 22)
BACK Etienne back 10/27 after 2, 5 min since (34% of 16)
BACK Liddell back 10/27 after 2, 5 min since (40% of 13)
NEW Thomas 24 to 30 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 10/22 · season opener
full strength
CLE availability going into 10/24 · 1 day's rest
full strength
CLE availability going into 10/26 · 1 day's restOUT Tomlin missed 2 since 10/22, out tonight
OUT Bryant missed 2 since 10/22, out tonight
CLE availability going into 10/27 · back-to-backOUT Tomlin missed 3 since 10/22, out tonight
OUT Bryant missed 3 since 10/22, returns tonight: 7 min (61% of 11)
CLE availability going into 10/29 · 1 day's restOUT Tomlin missed 4 since 10/22, out tonight
BACK Bryant back 10/27 after 3, 7 min since (61% of 11)
CLE availability going into 10/31 · 1 day's restOUT Tomlin missed 5 since 10/22, out tonight
BACK Bryant back 10/27 after 3, 5 min since (43% of 11)
10/22 @ CHA 117-136 — BKN notes
BKN lost 117-136. BKN shot 44% (39 of 88) to CHA's 53%, 14 of 40 from three. The glass went 38-50 against them. Claxton led with 17 (8 of 12); Thomas added 15, Dëmin 14. Q3 was theirs, 37-34, the deficit cut from 17 to 14, but the other 3 periods went 102-80 against them. Porter Jr.'s -19 in 25 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/24 vs CLE 124-131 — BKN notes
BKN lost 124-131. BKN took 14 more shots (96 to 82), fed by 10 offensive rebounds, but shot 51% to CLE's 54%, 19 of 45 from three, and got to the line just 7 times against 28 fouls committed. Thomas led with 33 (12 of 24, 3 of 11 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Porter Jr. added 31, Williams 25. Q4 was theirs, 38-23, the deficit cut from 22 to 7, but the other 3 periods went 108-86 against them. Claxton's -18 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/02 vs PHI — 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 114 a night and allowing 128, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 22 free throws a game; Thomas at 23 and Porter Jr. at 22 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Williams (2 straight), Powell (4 straight), Wolf (5 straight). 3 days' rest. Philadelphia comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 121, shooting 47 percent and 41 from three, 32 free throws a game; Maxey at 35 and Edgecombe at 21 a game. Without Barlow (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Philadelphia wins, on the road, and the game turns on the line, where Philadelphia takes 32 free throws a game to Brooklyn's 22 and the arc, Philadelphia at 41 percent from three to Brooklyn's 35. Call it Philadelphia 125, Brooklyn 119.
10/22 @ NYK 111-119 — CLE notes
CLE lost 111-119. CLE shot 47% (40 of 86) to NYK's 43%, 19 of 46 from three, and got to the line 18 times to NYK's 36. The glass went 32-48 against them. Mitchell led with 31 (12 of 25, 2 of 9 from three); Mobley added 22, Merrill 19. Q3 was theirs, 37-22, the deficit cut from 15 to 0, but the other 3 periods went 97-74 against them. Mitchell's -14 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/24 @ BKN 131-124 — CLE notes
CLE won 131-124. CLE shot 54% (44 of 82) to BKN's 51%, 18 of 42 from three, and went to the line 35 times to BKN's 7 — 25 points from the stripe to their 7. Mitchell led with 35 (10 of 15, 6 of 10 from three, 9 of 12 at the line); Allen added 22, Merrill 22. The hinge was Q1, 34-23: from level to 11 ahead, and the lead reached 25. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
10/31 vs TOR — 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 115, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 29 free throws a game; Mitchell at 28 and Mobley at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest. Toronto comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 128, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Barnes at 22 and Ingram at 22 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 115 a night to Toronto's 128 and the glass, where Cleveland has been minus-4 a night and Toronto minus-10. Call it Cleveland 123, Toronto 117.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BKNBS B. Saraf
CT C. Thomas
DS D. Sharpe
DE Demin
ED E. Dëmin
MP M. Porter Jr.
NC N. Claxton
NC N. Clowney
TM T. Mann
TM T. Martin
ZW Z. Williams
CLECP C. Porter Jr.
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
JA J. Allen
JT J. Tyson
LB L. Ball
LN L. Nance Jr.
SM S. Merrill
TP T. Proctor
BKN/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
Mitchell scores 35 as Cavaliers outlast Nets 131-124
NEW YORK -- — Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points, Jarrett Allen added 22, and Cleveland Cavaliers outlasted the Brooklyn Nets 131-124 on Friday night.
Sam Merrill finished with 22 points and Evan Mobley chipped in 13 for the Cavaliers, who won their first game of the season after losing against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
Cam Thomas scored 33 points and Michael Porter Jr . had 31 for Brooklyn, who are 0-2.
Cleveland led by 25 points in the third quarter before the Nets rallied in the fourth.
Ziaire Williams hit a 3-pointer to make it 121-115 with 5:18 left before a short delay after a fan ran on the court.
Merrill missed a 3-pointer after play resumed, and Thomas’ layup cut the deficit to 121-117.
Mitchell, who was 10 for 15 from the floor, turned the ball over on the ensuing possession before Brooklyn rookie Egor Demin’s 3-pointer made 121-120 with 3:48 remaining.
Cleveland then took advantage of multiple missed shots by the Nets and scored six consecutive points to extend the lead 127-120 with 38 seconds remaining.
The Cavaliers shot 44 for 82 from the field and made 18 of 42 from 3-point range, including 9 of 11 in the third quarter.
Up next Cavaliers: Host Milwaukee on Monday night.