Game ID: 22500302
Boston Celtics @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Sunday, November 30, 2025 at 6:00 PM ET
Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 26 25 28 36 115BOS 28 30 32 27 117
BOS @ CLE ScoutingBOS @ 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.
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
CLE availability going into 11/30 · 1 day's restOUT Merrill missed 5 since 11/19, out tonight
OUT Porter Jr. missed 3 since 11/23, returns tonight: 11 min (65% of 16)
BACK Garland back 11/21 after 5, 30 min since (97% of 30)
BACK Allen back 11/28 after 3, 28 min since (101% of 28)
BACK Tyson back 11/21 after 5, 26 min since (109% of 24)
BACK Nance Jr. back 11/21 after 2, 15 min since (121% of 12)
CLE availability going into 12/01 · back-to-backOUT Merrill missed 6 since 11/19, out tonight
BACK Garland back 11/21 after 5, 30 min since (99% of 30)
BACK Allen back 11/28 after 3, 28 min since (101% of 28)
BACK Tyson back 11/21 after 5, 28 min since (116% of 24)
BACK Porter Jr. back 11/30 after 3, 11 min since (65% of 16)
BACK Nance Jr. back 11/21 after 2, 15 min since (121% of 12)
NEW Tomlin 14 to 20 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 12/03 · 1 day's restOUT Allen missed 2 since 11/30, out tonight
OUT Merrill missed 7 since 11/19, out tonight
OUT Ball missed 2 since 11/30, returns tonight: 24 min (115% of 21)
OUT Nance Jr. missed 2 since 11/30, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 11/30 after 3, 17 min since (101% of 16)
NEW Tomlin 14 to 23 min over the last 5
NEW Proctor 10 to 17 min over the last 4
CLE availability going into 12/05 · 1 day's restOUT Allen missed 3 since 11/30, out tonight
OUT Merrill missed 8 since 11/19, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 3 since 11/30, out tonight
BACK Ball back 12/03 after 2, 24 min since (115% of 21)
BACK Porter Jr. back 11/30 after 3, 14 min since (88% of 16)
NEW Tyson 24 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Tomlin 14 to 22 min over the last 5
NEW Proctor 10 to 17 min over the last 3
CLE availability going into 12/06 · back-to-backOUT Allen missed 4 since 11/30, out tonight
OUT Merrill missed 9 since 11/19, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 4 since 11/30, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 2 since 12/03, out tonight
BACK Ball back 12/03 after 2, 23 min since (111% of 21)
BACK Porter Jr. back 11/30 after 3, 17 min since (102% of 16)
NEW Tyson 24 to 30 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 11/21 · 2 days' restOUT González missed 2 since 11/16, returns tonight: 5 min (37% of 14)
OUT Boucher missed 2 since 11/16, out tonight
BACK Scheierman back 11/12 after 3, 14 min since (79% of 18)
NEW Walsh 17 to 23 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 11/23 · 1 day's restOUT Boucher missed 3 since 11/16, returns tonight: 14 min (136% of 10)
BACK Scheierman back 11/12 after 3, 14 min since (75% of 18)
BACK González back 11/21 after 2, 5 min since (37% of 14)
NEW Walsh 17 to 23 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 11/26 · 2 days' restBACK Scheierman back 11/12 after 3, 13 min since (70% of 18)
BACK González back 11/21 after 2, 7 min since (51% of 14)
BACK Boucher back 11/12 after 4, 14 min since (129% of 10)
BOS availability going into 11/29 · 2 days' restBACK González back 11/21 after 2, 7 min since (49% of 14)
BACK Boucher back 11/23 after 3, 14 min since (136% of 10)
NEW Walsh 17 to 24 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 11/30 · back-to-backOUT Boucher missed 2 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK González back 11/21 after 2, 7 min since (49% of 14)
BOS availability going into 12/02 · 1 day's restOUT Boucher missed 3 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK González back 11/21 after 2, 7 min since (50% of 14)
NEW Walsh 17 to 27 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 12/04 · 1 day's restOUT Garza missed 2 since 11/30, returns tonight: 8 min (53% of 16)
OUT Boucher missed 4 since 11/26, out tonight
NEW Walsh 17 to 26 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 12/05 · back-to-backOUT Boucher missed 5 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Garza back 12/04 after 2, 8 min since (53% of 16)
NEW Walsh 17 to 27 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 12/07 · 1 day's restOUT Boucher missed 6 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Garza back 12/04 after 2, 5 min since (34% of 16)
NEW Walsh 17 to 27 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 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 114, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 30 and Hunter at 20 a game. Without Merrill (5 straight), Porter Jr. (3 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 115, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brown at 33 and White at 16 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 41 percent from three to Cleveland's 35. Call it Cleveland 116, Boston 114, Boston keeping it close.
11/21 vs IND 120-109 — CLE notes
CLE won 120-109. CLE shot 48% (43 of 89) to IND's 42%, 13 of 35 from three. Mitchell led with 32 (11 of 22, 4 of 11 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Mobley added 22, Hunter 20. The hinge was Q3, 38-26: a lead of 7 became 19, and the lead reached 22. Hunter was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
11/23 vs LAC 120-105 — CLE notes
CLE won 120-105. CLE shot 52% (45 of 87) to LAC's 46%, 17 of 45 from three, and got to the line 20 times to LAC's 26. Mitchell led with 37 (14 of 22, 5 of 9 from three); Mobley added 18, Hunter 17. The hinge was Q3, 33-27: a lead of 7 became 13, and the lead reached 20. Mobley was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
11/24 @ TOR 99-110 — CLE notes
CLE lost 99-110. CLE shot 41% (36 of 87) to TOR's 49%, 14 of 48 from three. The glass went 37-51 against them. Mitchell led with 17 (6 of 20, 3 of 12 from three); Tyson added 15, Tomlin 14. Q1 was theirs, 32-29, but the other 3 periods went 81-67 against them. Mitchell's -22 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/28 @ ATL 123-130 — CLE notes
CLE lost 123-130. CLE shot 46% (44 of 95) to ATL's 53%, 17 of 39 from three, and got to the line 20 times to ATL's 26. CLE turned it over 17 times to ATL's 12, and ATL turned those into 11 steals. The glass went 48-38 for them. Mitchell led with 42 (15 of 28, 7 of 15 from three); Mobley added 20, Hunter 16. Q2 was theirs, 39-27, turning a 10-point deficit into a 2-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 103-84 against them. Garland's -18 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/30 vs BOS 115-117 — CLE notes
CLE lost 115-117. CLE took 13 more shots (94 to 81), fed by 16 offensive rebounds, but shot 46% to BOS's 49%, 20 of 52 from three, and got to the line 13 times to BOS's 29. Mobley led with 27 (11 of 17, 3 of 6 from three); Garland added 21, Mitchell 18. Q4 was theirs, 36-27, the deficit cut from 11 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 90-79 against them. Hunter's -31 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/01 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 105, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 21 free throws a game; Siakam at 22 and Mathurin at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Nesmith (8 straight), Furphy (13 straight), Que. Jackson (13 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 114, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mitchell at 29 and Mobley at 20 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Merrill (6 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the defense, Indiana allowing 105 a night to Cleveland's 114 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-1 a night and Indiana minus-4. Call it Indiana 114, Cleveland 113, Cleveland keeping it close.
12/03 vs POR — 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 118 a night and allowing 116, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mitchell at 31 and Mobley at 18 a game. Without Allen (2 straight), Merrill (7 straight), Ball (2 straight). One day's rest. Portland comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 117, shooting 43 percent and 33 from three, 31 free throws a game; Avdija at 25 and Grant at 21 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Holiday (9 straight), Henderson (21 straight), Thybulle (16 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the line, where Portland takes 31 free throws a game to Cleveland's 19 and the arc, Cleveland at 37 percent from three to Portland's 33. Call it Cleveland 121, Portland 113.
12/05 vs SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 120, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 20 free throws a game; Mitchell at 31 and Mobley at 19 a game. Without Allen (3 straight), Merrill (8 straight). One day's rest. San Antonio comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 119, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 26 free throws a game; Fox at 27 and Vassell at 21 a game. Without Castle (8 straight), Wembanyama (9 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the line, where San Antonio takes 26 free throws a game to Cleveland's 20. Call it Cleveland 119, San Antonio 118, San Antonio keeping it close.
12/06 vs GSW — 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 123 a night and allowing 121, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 23 free throws a game; Mitchell at 33 and Mobley at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Allen (4 straight), Merrill (9 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Golden State comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 108, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 17 free throws a game; Butler III at 17 and Podziemski at 12 a game. Without Ste. Curry (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Golden State allowing 108 a night to Cleveland's 121 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-4 a night and Golden State minus-2. Call it Cleveland 116, Golden State 115, Golden State keeping it close.
11/21 vs BKN 105-113 — BOS notes
BOS lost 105-113. BOS took 8 more shots (90 to 82), fed by 14 offensive rebounds, but shot 47% to BKN's 52%, 11 of 34 from three, and got to the line 14 times to BKN's 21. Brown led with 26 (9 of 18, 1 of 4 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Simons added 23, Queta 16. Q4 was theirs, 28-21, the deficit cut from 15 to 8, but the other 3 periods went 92-77 against them. Pritchard's -13 in 35 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/23 vs ORL 138-129 — BOS notes
BOS won 138-129. BOS shot 60% (53 of 88) to ORL's 47%, 15 of 33 from three. Brown led with 35 (14 of 26, 2 of 6 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Simons added 23, Pritchard 19. The hinge was Q2, 48-30: a lead of 5 became 23, and the lead reached 26. Pritchard was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
11/26 vs DET 117-114 — BOS notes
BOS won 117-114. BOS shot 44% (38 of 87) to DET's 40%, 20 of 43 from three, and got to the line 24 times to DET's 36. The glass went 44-56 against them. Brown led with 33 (12 of 32, 2 of 7 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); White added 27, Pritchard 16. The hinge was Q2, 33-28: the deficit went from 6 to 1. BOS trailed 57-58 at the half and won the second half 60-56. Simons was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
11/29 @ MIN 115-119 — BOS notes
BOS lost 115-119. BOS took 13 more shots (96 to 83), fed by 14 offensive rebounds, but shot 47% to MIN's 49%, 16 of 46 from three. Brown led with 41 (17 of 32, 5 of 11 from three); Queta added 19, White 16. Q2 was theirs, 33-27, but the other 3 periods went 92-82 against them. They led by as many as 12. Scheierman's -13 in 14 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/30 @ CLE 117-115 — BOS notes
BOS won 117-115. BOS shot 49% (40 of 81) to CLE's 46%, 14 of 40 from three, and went to the line 29 times to CLE's 13 — 23 points from the stripe to their 9. Pritchard led with 42 (15 of 22, 6 of 11 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Brown added 19, Simons 18. The hinge was Q2, 30-25: a lead of 2 became 7, and the lead reached 21.
12/02 vs NYK — 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 118 a night and allowing 118, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brown at 31 and Pritchard at 20 a game. One day's rest. New York comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 107, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brunson at 30 and Towns at 22 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Anunoby (7 straight), Shamet (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-7 a night and Boston minus-1 and the defense, New York allowing 107 a night to Boston's 118. Call it New York 116, Boston 115, Boston keeping it close.
12/04 @ WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Washington comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 120, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; McCollum at 23 and Sarr at 22 a game. Without Sarr (2 straight), Johnson (5 straight), Watkins (3 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 119, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brown at 34 and White at 20 a game. Without Garza (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, Washington giving it away 14 times a game to Boston's 11. Call it Boston 120, Washington 115.
12/05 vs LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 113, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brown at 34 and White at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Second night of a back-to-back. The Lakers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 121, shooting 53 percent and 43 from three, 26 free throws a game; Dončić at 38 and Reaves at 32 a game. Without Smart (4 straight), Vanderbilt (7 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 113 a night to the Lakers' 121 and the line, where the Lakers take 26 free throws a game to Boston's 21. Call it Boston 120, the Lakers 116, the Lakers keeping it close.
12/07 @ TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Toronto comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 117, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 18 free throws a game; Barnes at 22 and Quickley at 22 a game. Without Barrett (7 straight), Agbaji (2 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 111, shooting 52 percent and 40 from three, 18 free throws a game; Brown at 33 and White at 22 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, Toronto giving it away 17 times a game to Boston's 12 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and Toronto minus-1. Call it Boston 117, Toronto 112.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BOSAS A. Simons
AW A. Williams
BS B. Scheierman
HG H. González
JB J. Brown
JM J. Minott
JW J. Walsh
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
XT X. Tillman
CLECP C. Porter Jr.
DG D. Garland
DH D. Hunter
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
JT J. Tyson
NT N. Tomlin
TB T. Bryant
TP T. Proctor
BOS/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
Payton Pritchard scores 42, Jaylen Brown gets triple-double as Celtics outlast Cavaliers 117-115
CLEVELAND -- — Payton Pritchard scored a season-high 42 points, Jaylen Brown got his fourth career triple-double and the Boston Celtics barely held on to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-115 on Sunday night after giving up most of their big lead.
The Celtics led by 21 points in the third quarter and were still up by 11 with less than two minutes left before Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell made consecutive 3-pointers to pull the Cavs within 114—112 with 20.5 seconds left.
Pritchard, who made several big buckets down the stretch, then made two free throws to put Boston ahead 116-112 with 5.9 seconds remaining.
Cavs guard Darius Garland buried a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds to go, and Cleveland fouled Brown on the ensuing inbounds pass following a timeout. Boston's All-Star guard could only split a pair of free throws, giving the Cavs a final chance.
But Evan Mobley 's jumper was short at the final horn, allowing the Celtics to escape.
Brown finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his first triple-double since Jan. 21, 2024, at Houston. He scored 41 in a loss at Minnesota on Saturday.
Mobley led the Cavs with 27 points and 14 rebounds and Garland scored 21. Mitchell was quiet until the final minutes and finished with 18 — 12 below his average.
Boston's Jordan Walsh had career-highs with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Both teams were short-handed due to injuries.
The Celtics, who had been without star Jayson Tatum all season, rested starters Derrick White (calf bruise) and Neemias Queta (ankle sprain), who was coming off a 19-point, 18-rebound performance.
The Cavs have been dealing with their own lengthy list of medical issues. They were without starting center Jarrett Allen (finger sprain), forward Larry Nance Jr . (hand sprain) and guards Lonzo Ball (knee rest) and Sam Merrill (hand sprain).