Los Angeles Lakers @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET
Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH | Game ID: 22500671
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 24 33 42 30 129LAL 28 27 22 22 99
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Cavaliers spoil LeBron James' return, riding big 3rd quarter to 129-99 romp
CLEVELAND -- — Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points, Jaylon Tyson had 20 and the Cleveland Cavaliers used a big third quarter to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 129-99 and spoil LeBron James ' return to Northeast Ohio.
De’Andre Hunter added 19 points, and Jarrett Allen had 17 points and nine rebounds to help Cleveland to its season-best fifth straight victory.
James had only 11 points, the first time in 13 trips to Cleveland as an opposing player he has not had at least 20. The 41-year old Akron native was 3 of 10 from the field, including 0 of 3 on 3-pointers, and was 5 of 6 from the line in 27 minutes.
It also was James' worst loss in Cleveland as a visiting player. He is 10-3, but has been on the losing end in his last two.
James teared up during a timeout with 7:46 remaining in the first quarter when the Cavaliers showed video highlights of him scoring 25 straight points during Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference finals against the Detroit Pistons .
Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 29 points. Los Angeles fell to 3-2 on its seven-game road trip.
Doncic missed six minutes in the first quarter after having his left ankle looked at in the locker room. Doncic tweaked his ankle when he landed awkwardly near the Lakers’ bench after attempting a 3-pointer.
Cleveland led 57-55 at halftime, but took control in the third quarter, outscoring Los Angeles by 20 (42-22). It was the 12th time this season that the Cavaliers scored at least 40 points in a period.
It was tied at 57 when the Cavaliers went on a 25-8 run where Mitchell scored eight points and Tyson added seven.
Cleveland was 6 of 22 on 3-pointers in the first half, but went 7 of 11 in the third. It also was 17 of 25 from the field in the period.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECP C. Porter Jr.
DH D. Hunter
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
JA J. Allen
JT J. Tyson
LB L. Ball
LN L. Nance Jr.
NT N. Tomlin
SM S. Merrill
TB T. Bryant
TP T. Proctor
LALBJ B. James
DA D. Ayton
DK D. Knecht
DT D. Timme
DO Doncic
GV G. Vincent
JH J. Hayes
JL J. LaRavia
JV J. Vanderbilt
LD L. Dončić
LJ L. James
MK M. Kleber
MS M. Smart
RH R. Hachimura
CLE/LAL 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