Game ID: 22500255
Houston Rockets @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at 7:00 PM ET
Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 19 21 30 34 104HOU 33 24 17 40 114
CLE vs HOU ScoutingCLE vs 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.
CLE availability going into 11/12 · 1 day's restOUT Tomlin missed 2 since 11/08, returns tonight: 18 min (122% of 14)
OUT Nance Jr. missed 2 since 11/08, returns tonight: 19 min (158% of 12)
OUT Bryant missed 2 since 11/08, returns tonight: 13 min (114% of 11)
BACK Allen back 11/05 after 2, 25 min since (91% of 28)
BACK Merrill back 11/05 after 3, 26 min since (106% of 25)
CLE availability going into 11/13 · back-to-backBACK Allen back 11/05 after 2, 26 min since (93% of 28)
BACK Merrill back 11/05 after 3, 25 min since (101% of 25)
BACK Tomlin back 11/05 after 7, 8 min since (57% of 14)
BACK Nance Jr. back 11/12 after 2, 19 min since (158% of 12)
BACK Bryant back 11/12 after 2, 13 min since (114% of 11)
CLE availability going into 11/15 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 2 since 11/12, out tonight
OUT Tyson missed 2 since 11/12, out tonight
BACK Tomlin back 11/12 after 2, 20 min since (136% of 14)
BACK Nance Jr. back 11/12 after 2, 13 min since (107% of 12)
BACK Bryant back 11/12 after 2, 10 min since (88% of 11)
NEW Proctor 10 to 16 min over the last 4
CLE availability going into 11/17 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 3 since 11/12, out tonight
OUT Tyson missed 3 since 11/12, out tonight
BACK Tomlin back 11/12 after 2, 19 min since (132% of 14)
BACK Nance Jr. back 11/12 after 2, 10 min since (84% of 12)
BACK Bryant back 11/12 after 2, 10 min since (88% of 11)
CLE availability going into 11/19 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 4 since 11/12, out tonight
OUT Tyson missed 4 since 11/12, out tonight
BACK Tomlin back 11/12 after 2, 17 min since (120% of 14)
BACK Nance Jr. back 11/12 after 2, 10 min since (84% of 12)
BACK Bryant back 11/12 after 2, 9 min since (79% of 11)
CLE availability going into 11/21 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 5 since 11/12, returns tonight: 27 min (87% of 30)
OUT Tyson missed 5 since 11/12, returns tonight: 27 min (112% of 24)
OUT Nance Jr. missed 2 since 11/17, returns tonight: 19 min (156% of 12)
BACK Tomlin back 11/12 after 2, 18 min since (123% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 11/12 after 2, 8 min since (68% of 11)
NEW Porter Jr. 16 to 23 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 11/23 · 1 day's restOUT Merrill missed 2 since 11/19, out tonight
BACK Garland back 11/21 after 5, 27 min since (87% of 30)
BACK Tyson back 11/21 after 5, 27 min since (112% of 24)
BACK Nance Jr. back 11/21 after 2, 19 min since (156% of 12)
CLE availability going into 11/24 · back-to-backOUT Allen missed 2 since 11/21, out tonight
OUT Merrill missed 3 since 11/19, out tonight
BACK Garland back 11/21 after 5, 28 min since (92% of 30)
BACK Tyson back 11/21 after 5, 25 min since (104% of 24)
BACK Nance Jr. back 11/21 after 2, 16 min since (129% of 12)
CLE availability going into 11/28 · 3 days' restOUT Allen missed 3 since 11/21, returns tonight: 28 min (101% of 28)
OUT Merrill missed 4 since 11/19, out tonight
OUT Porter Jr. missed 2 since 11/23, out tonight
BACK Garland back 11/21 after 5, 28 min since (92% of 30)
BACK Tyson back 11/21 after 5, 28 min since (116% of 24)
BACK Nance Jr. back 11/21 after 2, 17 min since (135% of 12)
NEW Ball 21 to 27 min over the last 4
NEW Tomlin 14 to 19 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 11/09 · 1 day's restOUT Finney-Smith missed 8 since 10/21, out tonight
NEW Okogie 17 to 23 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 11/12 · 2 days' restOUT Finney-Smith missed 9 since 10/21, out tonight
OUT Holiday missed 2 since 11/07, returns tonight: 3 min (25% of 14)
HOU availability going into 11/14 · 1 day's restOUT Finney-Smith missed 10 since 10/21, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 11/12 after 2, 3 min since (25% of 14)
NEW Okogie 17 to 23 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 11/16 · 1 day's restOUT Finney-Smith missed 11 since 10/21, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 11/12 after 2, 8 min since (61% of 14)
NEW Okogie 17 to 22 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 11/19 · 2 days' restOUT Finney-Smith missed 12 since 10/21, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 11/12 after 2, 11 min since (79% of 14)
HOU availability going into 11/21 · 1 day's restOUT Eason missed 2 since 11/16, out tonight
OUT Finney-Smith missed 13 since 10/21, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 11/12 after 2, 13 min since (95% of 14)
HOU availability going into 11/24 · 2 days' restOUT Eason missed 3 since 11/16, out tonight
OUT Finney-Smith missed 14 since 10/21, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 11/12 after 2, 13 min since (96% of 14)
HOU availability going into 11/26 · 1 day's restOUT Eason missed 4 since 11/16, out tonight
OUT Finney-Smith missed 15 since 10/21, out tonight
HOU availability going into 11/30 · 3 days' restOUT Durant missed 2 since 11/24, returns tonight: 30 min (82% of 36)
OUT Eason missed 5 since 11/16, out tonight
OUT Finney-Smith missed 16 since 10/21, out tonight
NEW Holiday 14 to 21 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 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 118, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 27 free throws a game; Mitchell at 32 and Hunter at 16 a game. Without Garland (4 straight), Tyson (4 straight). One day's rest. Houston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 115, shooting 49 percent and 42 from three, 23 free throws a game; Durant at 29 and Sengun at 24 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 13 a night. Without Finney-Smith (12 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Houston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 42 percent from three to Cleveland's 32 and the glass, where Houston has been plus-13 a night and Cleveland plus-3. Call it Houston 120, Cleveland 119, Cleveland keeping it close.
11/12 @ MIA 130-116 — CLE notes
CLE won 130-116. CLE shot 43% (45 of 104) to MIA's 48%, 14 of 47 from three, and went to the line 31 times to MIA's 13 — 26 points from the stripe to their 11. CLE turned it over 12 times to MIA's 21. Allen led with 30 (12 of 20, 6 of 7 at the line); Hunter added 21, Porter Jr. 19. The hinge was Q4, 37-19: CLE came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 14, and the lead reached 18. CLE trailed 66-69 at the half and won the second half 64-47. Porter Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
11/13 vs TOR 113-126 — CLE notes
CLE lost 113-126. CLE shot 45% (41 of 91) to TOR's 56%, 10 of 41 from three, and went to the line 26 times to TOR's 17 — 21 points from the stripe to their 16. Mitchell led with 31 (7 of 18, 2 of 9 from three, 15 of 17 at the line); Tomlin added 18, Hunter 16. Q3 was theirs, 31-23, the deficit cut from 13 to 5, but the other 3 periods went 103-82 against them. They led by as many as 10. Mitchell's -18 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/15 vs MEM 108-100 — CLE notes
CLE won 108-100. CLE shot 46% (38 of 83) to MEM's 36%, 13 of 40 from three, and got to the line 29 times to MEM's 40. CLE turned it over 20 times to MEM's 15, and MEM turned those into 9 steals. Mitchell led with 30 (10 of 21, 4 of 13 from three, 6 of 9 at the line); Mobley added 22, Allen 16. The hinge was Q4, 32-16: CLE came in trailing by 8 and left it ahead by 8. CLE trailed 54-61 at the half and won the second half 54-39. Wade was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
11/17 vs MIL 118-106 — CLE notes
CLE won 118-106. CLE shot 56% (44 of 79) to MIL's 42%, 15 of 35 from three, and went to the line 21 times to MIL's 15 — 15 points from the stripe to their 11. The glass went 45-34 for them. Mitchell led with 37 (14 of 22, 4 of 8 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Merrill added 20, Mobley 14. The hinge was Q2, 33-24: CLE came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 2. Wade was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
11/19 vs HOU 104-114 — CLE notes
CLE lost 104-114. CLE shot 44% (36 of 81) to HOU's 46%, 12 of 39 from three. The glass went 39-51 against them. Hunter led with 25 (6 of 11, 5 of 8 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Mitchell added 21, Mobley 18. Q3 was theirs, 30-17, the deficit cut from 17 to 4, but the other 3 periods went 97-74 against them. Mitchell's -18 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/21 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 115 a night and allowing 112, shooting 47 percent and 32 from three, 28 free throws a game; Mitchell at 30 and Hunter at 16 a game. Without Garland (5 straight), Tyson (5 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 132, shooting 44 percent and 33 from three, 31 free throws a game; Siakam at 25 and Nembhard at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Nesmith (3 straight), Furphy (8 straight), Que. Jackson (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 112 a night to Indiana's 132 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-0 a night and Indiana minus-5. Call it Cleveland 124, Indiana 112, Cleveland by 12.
11/23 vs LAC — 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 113 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 33 from three, 27 free throws a game; Mitchell at 30 and Mobley at 17 a game. Without Merrill (2 straight). One day's rest. The Clippers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 121, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; Harden at 38 and Zubac at 18 a game. Without Leonard (10 straight), Jones Jr. (3 straight), Miller (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 111 a night to the Clippers' 121 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-1 a night and the Clippers minus-3. Call it Cleveland 120, the Clippers 112.
11/24 @ TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Toronto comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 110, shooting 53 percent and 40 from three, 30 free throws a game; Ingram at 21 and Barrett at 20 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Second night of a back-to-back. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 107, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 26 free throws a game; Mitchell at 31 and Mobley at 19 a game. Without Allen (2 straight), Merrill (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Toronto wins, and the game turns on the arc, Toronto at 40 percent from three to Cleveland's 36. Call it Toronto 118, Cleveland 113.
11/28 @ ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 119, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 16 free throws a game; Porziņģis at 23 and Johnson at 21 a game. Without Young (14 straight). 2 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Mitchell at 29 and Hunter at 18 a game. Without Allen (3 straight), Merrill (4 straight), Porter Jr. (2 straight). 3 days' rest.
So: Atlanta wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 109 a night to Atlanta's 119 and the line, where Cleveland takes 23 free throws a game to Atlanta's 16. Call it Atlanta 116, Cleveland 115, Cleveland keeping it close.
11/09 @ MIL 122-115 — HOU notes
HOU won 122-115. HOU shot 53% (48 of 90) to MIL's 56%, 10 of 26 from three. The glass went 50-27 for them. Durant led with 31 (11 of 15, 7 of 9 at the line); Sengun added 23, Smith Jr. 16. The hinge was Q4, 40-30: HOU came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 7. HOU trailed 50-61 at the half and won the second half 72-54. Smith Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
11/12 vs WAS 135-112 — HOU notes
HOU won 135-112. HOU shot 53% (51 of 96) to WAS's 46%, 17 of 35 from three. The glass went 53-37 for them. Durant led with 23 (7 of 16, 2 of 5 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Sheppard added 21, Eason 20. The hinge was Q2, 41-25: a lead of 11 became 27. Adams was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
11/14 vs POR 140-116 — HOU notes
HOU won 140-116. HOU shot 50% (53 of 106) to POR's 47%, 17 of 45 from three, and got to the line 20 times to POR's 27. HOU turned it over 6 times to POR's 20. Durant led with 30 (12 of 19, 3 of 6 from three); Sengun added 25, Smith Jr. 22. The hinge was Q4, 35-25: a lead of 14 became 24, and the lead reached 30. Durant was the night's best plus/minus at +37.
11/16 vs ORL 117-113 — HOU notes
HOU won 117-113 in 1 overtime. HOU shot 42% (42 of 100) to ORL's 42%, 8 of 20 from three. HOU turned it over 14 times to ORL's 8, and ORL turned those into 11 steals. The glass went 60-38 for them. Durant led with 35 (13 of 24, 2 of 8 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Sengun added 30, Sheppard 16. The hinge was Q3, 31-25: the deficit went from 9 to 3. HOU trailed 46-55 at the half and won the second half 71-58. Sheppard was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
11/19 @ CLE 114-104 — HOU notes
HOU won 114-104. HOU shot 46% (41 of 90) to CLE's 44%, 9 of 24 from three. The glass went 51-39 for them. Sengun led with 28 (10 of 17, 8 of 10 at the line); Durant added 20, Holiday 18. The hinge was Q1, 33-19: from level to 14 ahead, and the lead reached 22. Smith Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +10.
11/21 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 24 free throws a game; Durant at 28 and Sengun at 24 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 16 a night. Without Eason (2 straight), Finney-Smith (13 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 106, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 30 free throws a game; Jokić at 36 and Murray at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Braun (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-16 a night and Denver plus-5 and the line, where Denver takes 30 free throws a game to Houston's 24. Call it Houston 118, Denver 112.
11/24 @ PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 109, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Brooks at 25 and Booker at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Allen (4 straight), Green (7 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Houston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 111, shooting 47 percent and 41 from three, 24 free throws a game; Durant at 24 and Sengun at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 12 a night. Without Eason (3 straight), Finney-Smith (14 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Houston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-12 a night and Phoenix plus-4 and the turnovers, Phoenix giving it away 15 times a game to Houston's 11. Call it Houston 117, Phoenix 116, Phoenix keeping it close.
11/26 @ GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 116, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Ste. Curry at 28 and Butler III at 22 a game. Without Kuminga (6 straight). One day's rest. Houston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 107, shooting 46 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; Durant at 24 and Sengun at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Eason (4 straight), Finney-Smith (15 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-9 a night and Golden State minus-2 and the turnovers, Golden State giving it away 17 times a game to Houston's 12. Call it Houston 117, Golden State 114, Golden State keeping it close.
11/30 @ 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 118 a night and allowing 129, shooting 48 percent and 33 from three, 24 free throws a game; George at 28 and Markkanen at 23 a game. Without Kessler (13 straight), Williams (2 straight), Harkless (4 straight). One day's rest. Houston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 104, shooting 44 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Durant at 23 and Sengun at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Durant (2 straight), Eason (5 straight), Finney-Smith (16 straight). 3 days' rest.
So: Houston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Houston allowing 104 a night to Utah's 129 and the glass, where Houston has been plus-9 a night and Utah plus-1. Call it Houston 120, Utah 114.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECP C. Porter Jr.
DH D. Hunter
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
JA J. Allen
LB L. Ball
NT N. Tomlin
TB T. Bryant
TP T. Proctor
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
CC C. Capela
JO J. Okogie
JS J. Smith Jr.
JT J. Tate
KD K. Durant
RS R. Sheppard
SA S. Adams
CLE/HOU 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
Alperen Sengun scores 28 points as Rockets top Cavaliers 114-104 for fifth straight win
CLEVELAND -- — Alperen Sengun had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Kevin Durant scored 20 points, and the Houston Rockets extended their winning streak to five with a 114-104 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
Aaron Holiday scored 14 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter for Houston, which is 10-1 since starting the season with two losses. Jabari Smith Jr. scored 14 and Amen Thompson had 12 points, nine boards and five steals.
De'Andre Hunter scored 25 points to pace the Cavaliers. Donovan Mitchell added 21 points, 19 in the final period when they got as close as 77-76 before the Rockets answered with back-to-back hoops by Sengun and Thompson.
Evan Mobley had 18 points, but missed six of his 10 free throw attempts for Cleveland, which fell to 2-2 on a six-game homestand, its longest of the season. Jarrett Allen added eight points and seven rebounds.
Houston extended its lead to 69-47 midway through the third on Smith's jumper, but the Cavaliers ended the quarter on a 23-5 run to pull within 74-70. Mobley had eight points and Lonzo Ball added seven during the surge.
Durant had 13 points and Sengun had 10 points and six rebounds, powering the Rockets to a 57-40 advantage at halftime. Houston led by 14 in the opening quarter and by 20 in the second.
Smith and Hunter were both called for flagrant fouls and technicals in the first half, while Cleveland's Nae'Qwan Tomlin picked up a technical.
Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland (left great toe) and swingman Jaylon Tyson (concussion) both missed their fifth straight games, while shooting guard Sam Merrill (right hand sprain) was hurt Monday against Milwaukee. Tyson could return Friday.