New Orleans Pelicans @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 at 7:30 PM ET
Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH | Game ID: 22500412
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 32 37 41 31 141NOP 22 38 31 27 118
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Donovan Mitchell and Sam Merrill propel Cavaliers to 141-118 victory over Pelicans
CLEVELAND -- — Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, Sam Merrill added 22 and the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away in the second half for a 141-118 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.
Nine of the 11 players used by the Cavaliers players scored in double figures as they won consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 21-23. Cleveland also evened its December record at 5-5.
The 23-point victory was the Cavaliers' second-biggest margin this season.
It was the fifth time in the NBA this season and the second time in three days a team has had nine players score in double figures. According to Sportradar, it was only the second time in franchise history the Cavaliers had done it. The previous time was Nov. 10, 1992, against the Washington Bullets.
Cleveland scored at least 139 points for the second straight night and eighth time this season.
The Cavaliers got 57 points from their reserves as Jaylon Tyson scored 18 and Jaylon Tyson added a season-high 15.
Center Jarrett Allen had 14 points, including his first 3-pointer since Jan. 29, 2023.
Zion Williamson scored 26 points off the bench as New Orleans had a five-game winning streak snapped. Derik Queen added 21 points.
Merrill, who returned to the lineup Monday night after missing 14 games with a sprained right hand, was 7 of 12 from the field and 6 of 10 on 3-pointers in 26 minutes. It was the third time this season he scored at least 20 points.
Queen's 3-pointer got the Pelicans within 76-70 before the Cavaliers blew it open with a 17-4 run. Mitchell had 13 points and made all six of his shots in the quarter as Cleveland was 17 of 26 from the field.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECP C. Porter Jr.
DG D. Garland
DH D. Hunter
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
JA J. Allen
JT J. Tyson
NT N. Tomlin
SM S. Merrill
TB T. Bryant
TP T. Proctor
NOPBM B. McGowens
DQ D. Queen
JA J. Alvarado
JF J. Fears
JH J. Hawkins
KM K. Matković
MP M. Peavy
SB S. Bey
TM T. Murphy III
YM Y. Missi
ZW Z. Williamson
CLE/NOP 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
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