Game ID: 22500921
Boston Celtics @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Sunday, March 8, 2026 at 1:00 PM ET
Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 26 10 33 29 98BOS 35 21 30 23 109
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 2/25 · back-to-backOUT Nance Jr. missed 3 since 2/20, returns tonight: 8 min (61% of 12)
BACK Mobley back 2/19 after 7, 23 min since (70% of 33)
BACK Wade back 2/19 after 3, 21 min since (95% of 22)
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/24 after 2, 3 min since (16% of 16)
BACK Proctor back 2/11 after 2, 6 min since (58% of 10)
CLE availability going into 2/27 · 1 day's restBACK Mobley back 2/19 after 7, 23 min since (70% of 33)
BACK Wade back 2/19 after 3, 21 min since (95% of 22)
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/24 after 2, 12 min since (74% of 16)
BACK Nance Jr. back 2/25 after 3, 8 min since (61% of 12)
BACK Proctor back 2/24 after 2, 3 min since (26% of 10)
CLE availability going into 3/01 · 1 day's restOUT Harden missed 2 since 2/25, returns tonight: 36 min (103% of 35)
OUT Mitchell missed 2 since 2/25, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/24 after 2, 19 min since (115% of 16)
BACK Nance Jr. back 2/25 after 3, 8 min since (61% of 12)
BACK Proctor back 2/24 after 2, 11 min since (105% of 10)
NEW Schröder 19 to 27 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 3/03 · 1 day's restOUT Mitchell missed 3 since 2/25, out tonight
OUT Wade missed 2 since 2/27, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 2 since 2/27, out tonight
BACK Harden back 3/01 after 2, 36 min since (103% of 35)
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/24 after 2, 19 min since (113% of 16)
BACK Proctor back 2/24 after 2, 11 min since (105% of 10)
NEW Tyson 24 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Ellis 20 to 25 min over the last 4
NEW Schröder 19 to 28 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 3/08 · 4 days' restOUT Mitchell missed 4 since 2/25, returns tonight: 34 min (99% of 34)
OUT Wade missed 3 since 2/27, returns tonight: 21 min (92% of 22)
OUT Nance Jr. missed 3 since 2/27, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 2 since 3/01, out tonight
BACK Harden back 3/01 after 2, 36 min since (102% of 35)
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/24 after 2, 19 min since (118% of 16)
NEW Tyson 24 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Ellis 20 to 26 min over the last 4
NEW Schröder 19 to 29 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 3/09 · back-to-backOUT Tomlin missed 2 since 3/03, returns tonight: 4 min (26% of 14)
OUT Nance Jr. missed 4 since 2/27, returns tonight: 4 min (31% of 12)
OUT Proctor missed 3 since 3/01, out tonight
BACK Harden back 3/01 after 2, 37 min since (104% of 35)
BACK Mitchell back 3/08 after 4, 34 min since (99% of 34)
BACK Wade back 3/08 after 3, 21 min since (92% of 22)
NEW Merrill 25 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Tyson 24 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Ellis 20 to 28 min over the last 4
NEW Schröder 19 to 29 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 3/11 · 1 day's restOUT Allen missed 2 since 3/08, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 4 since 3/01, out tonight
BACK Harden back 3/01 after 2, 35 min since (99% of 35)
BACK Mitchell back 3/08 after 4, 32 min since (95% of 34)
BACK Wade back 3/08 after 3, 20 min since (91% of 22)
BACK Tomlin back 3/09 after 2, 4 min since (26% of 14)
BACK Nance Jr. back 3/09 after 4, 4 min since (31% of 12)
NEW Tyson 24 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Ellis 20 to 27 min over the last 4
NEW Schröder 19 to 27 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 3/13 · 1 day's restOUT Allen missed 3 since 3/08, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 5 since 3/01, out tonight
BACK Harden back 3/01 after 2, 35 min since (100% of 35)
BACK Mitchell back 3/08 after 4, 34 min since (99% of 34)
BACK Wade back 3/08 after 3, 20 min since (90% of 22)
BACK Tomlin back 3/09 after 2, 4 min since (26% of 14)
BACK Nance Jr. back 3/09 after 4, 4 min since (31% of 12)
NEW Ellis 20 to 28 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 3/15 · 1 day's restOUT Allen missed 4 since 3/08, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 6 since 3/01, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 3/08 after 4, 32 min since (95% of 34)
BACK Wade back 3/08 after 3, 20 min since (88% of 22)
BACK Tomlin back 3/09 after 2, 10 min since (73% of 14)
BACK Nance Jr. back 3/09 after 4, 5 min since (43% of 12)
NEW Ellis 20 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Bryant 11 to 17 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/01 · 1 day's restNEW Scheierman 18 to 26 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/02 · back-to-backNEW Scheierman 18 to 28 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/04 · 1 day's restNEW Scheierman 18 to 27 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/06 · 1 day's restNEW Scheierman 18 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW González 14 to 21 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/08 · 1 day's restNEW Scheierman 18 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW González 14 to 23 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/10 · 1 day's restOUT Walsh missed 2 since 3/06, returns tonight: 1 min (7% of 17)
NEW Scheierman 18 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW González 14 to 20 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/12 · 1 day's restOUT Vučević missed 2 since 3/08, out tonight
BACK Walsh back 3/10 after 2, 1 min since (7% of 17)
NEW Scheierman 18 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW González 14 to 19 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/14 · 1 day's restOUT Vučević missed 3 since 3/08, out tonight
BACK Walsh back 3/10 after 2, 7 min since (40% of 17)
NEW Scheierman 18 to 29 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 3/16 · 1 day's restOUT Vučević missed 4 since 3/08, out tonight
BACK Walsh back 3/10 after 2, 7 min since (40% of 17)
NEW Scheierman 18 to 28 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 113 a night and allowing 109, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 29 free throws a game; Harden at 20 and Allen at 20 a game. Without Mitchell (4 straight), Wade (3 straight). 4 days' rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 102, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 18 free throws a game; Brown at 25 and White at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 13 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-13 a night and Cleveland minus-1 and the line, where Cleveland takes 29 free throws a game to Boston's 18. Call it Boston 113, Cleveland 111, Cleveland keeping it close.
2/25 @ MIL 116-118 — CLE notes
CLE lost 116-118. CLE shot 48% (42 of 87) to MIL's 55%, 12 of 40 from three, and went to the line 27 times to MIL's 5 — 20 points from the stripe to their 3. Allen led with 27 (10 of 15, 7 of 8 at the line); Schröder added 26, Tyson 14. Q2 was theirs, 30-29, but the other 3 periods went 89-86 against them. Tyson's -19 in 35 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/27 @ DET 119-122 — CLE notes
CLE lost 119-122 in 1 overtime. CLE shot 46% (43 of 94) to DET's 46%, 13 of 35 from three, and got to the line 27 times to DET's 33. The glass went 41-56 against them. Allen led with 25 (10 of 12, 5 of 8 at the line); Mobley added 23, Merrill 20. Q1 was theirs, 35-27, but the other 4 periods went 95-84 against them. They led by as many as 13. Schröder's -15 in 38 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/01 @ BKN 106-102 — CLE notes
CLE won 106-102. CLE shot 49% (34 of 70) to BKN's 51%, 13 of 27 from three, and went to the line 37 times to BKN's 20 — 25 points from the stripe to their 15. Harden led with 22 (5 of 9, 4 of 7 from three, 8 of 12 at the line); Allen added 20, Mobley 17. The hinge was Q1, 29-24: from level to 5 ahead. CLE trailed 46-52 at the half and won the second half 60-50. Mobley was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
3/03 vs DET 113-109 — CLE notes
CLE won 113-109. CLE shot 44% (38 of 86) to DET's 51%, 17 of 46 from three. Tyson led with 22 (8 of 15, 5 of 12 from three); Harden added 18, Mobley 18. The hinge was Q2, 29-21: CLE came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 6. Schröder was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
3/08 vs BOS 98-109 — CLE notes
CLE lost 98-109. CLE shot 41% (35 of 86) to BOS's 44%, 13 of 45 from three. Mitchell led with 30 (9 of 18, 3 of 9 from three, 9 of 11 at the line); Mobley added 24, Harden 19. Q4 was theirs, 29-23, the deficit cut from 17 to 11, but the other 3 periods went 86-69 against them. Tyson's -18 in 25 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/09 vs PHI — 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 110 a night and allowing 112, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 28 free throws a game; Mobley at 20 and Allen at 20 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. Philadelphia comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 118, shooting 44 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Maxey at 28 and Oubre Jr. at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without Edgecombe (2 straight), George (16 straight), Embiid (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the line, where Cleveland takes 28 free throws a game to Philadelphia's 20 and the glass, where Cleveland has been minus-3 a night and Philadelphia minus-7. Call it Cleveland 116, Philadelphia 112, Philadelphia keeping it close.
3/11 @ ORL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 102, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 30 free throws a game; Banchero at 27 and Bane at 21 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Fra. Wagner (10 straight). 2 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 109, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; Harden at 20 and Mobley at 19 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Allen (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Orlando wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Orlando has been plus-4 a night and Cleveland minus-5 and the defense, Orlando allowing 102 a night to Cleveland's 109. Call it Orlando 115, Cleveland 110.
3/13 @ DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Dallas comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 119, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 21 free throws a game; Gafford at 17 and Thompson at 17 a game. Without Poulakidas (5 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Harden at 22 a game. Without Allen (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, Dallas giving it away 15 times a game to Cleveland's 10 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 110 a night to Dallas's 119. Call it Cleveland 116, Dallas 112, Dallas keeping it close.
3/15 vs DAL — 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 117 a night and allowing 110, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Harden at 21 a game. Without Allen (4 straight). One day's rest. Dallas comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 123, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 20 free throws a game; Gafford at 19 and Flagg at 17 a game. Without Poulakidas (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 110 a night to Dallas's 123 and the turnovers, Dallas giving it away 16 times a game to Cleveland's 10. Call it Cleveland 121, Dallas 109, Cleveland by 12.
3/01 vs PHI 114-98 — BOS notes
BOS won 114-98. BOS shot 44% (40 of 91) to PHI's 40%, 16 of 49 from three. BOS turned it over 13 times to PHI's 6, and PHI turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 59-37 for them. Brown led with 27 (9 of 17, 2 of 6 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Queta added 27, White 21. The hinge was Q2, 36-22: BOS came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 12, and the lead reached 16. White was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
3/02 @ MIL 108-81 — BOS notes
BOS won 108-81. BOS shot 43% (41 of 95) to MIL's 36%, 20 of 50 from three, and got to the line 9 times to MIL's 19. BOS turned it over 10 times to MIL's 16. The glass went 54-41 for them. Pritchard led with 25 (10 of 23, 5 of 10 from three); González added 18, White 18. The hinge was Q1, 30-20: from level to 10 ahead, and the lead reached 31. White was the night's best plus/minus at +31.
3/04 vs CHA 89-118 — BOS notes
BOS lost 89-118. BOS shot 38% (30 of 79) to CHA's 46%, 10 of 36 from three. BOS turned it over 15 times to CHA's 4, and CHA turned those into 10 steals. White led with 29 (9 of 17, 3 of 9 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Brown added 20. Q3 was theirs, 25-27, but the other 3 periods went 91-64 against them. Hauser's -21 in 25 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/06 vs DAL 120-100 — BOS notes
BOS won 120-100. BOS shot 47% (47 of 99) to DAL's 41%, 16 of 48 from three. The glass went 58-45 for them. Brown led with 24 (9 of 17, 2 of 5 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); White added 20, Pritchard 18. The hinge was Q4, 30-20: a lead of 10 became 20, and the lead reached 25. White was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
3/08 @ CLE 109-98 — BOS notes
BOS won 109-98. BOS shot 44% (37 of 84) to CLE's 41%, 15 of 38 from three. Brown led with 23 (7 of 17, 1 of 3 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Tatum added 20, Pritchard 18. The hinge was Q2, 21-10: a lead of 9 became 20, and the lead reached 26. Pritchard was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
3/10 @ SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 109, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 26 and Fox at 17 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Barnes (4 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 99, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 17 free throws a game; Brown at 24 and White at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Walsh (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: San Antonio wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-11 a night and San Antonio plus-2 and the defense, Boston allowing 99 a night to San Antonio's 109. Call it San Antonio 113, Boston 109, Boston keeping it close.
3/12 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 104, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 30 and Holmgren at 20 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Holmgren (2 straight), Jal. Williams (11 straight), Hartenstein (2 straight). 2 days' rest. Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 104, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 17 free throws a game; White at 21 and Tatum at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Vučević (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-6 a night and OKC minus-8 and the line, where OKC takes 22 free throws a game to Boston's 17. Call it OKC 111, Boston 108, Boston keeping it close.
3/14 vs WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 109, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 19 free throws a game; White at 22 and Brown at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Vučević (3 straight). One day's rest. Washington comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 134, shooting 47 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Sarr at 17 and Riley at 16 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Reese (2 straight), George (5 straight), Whitmore (44 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 109 a night to Washington's 134 and the turnovers, Washington giving it away 17 times a game to Boston's 11. Call it Boston 121, Washington 111, Boston by 10.
3/16 vs PHX — 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 112 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brown at 21 and Tatum at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Vučević (4 straight). One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 23 free throws a game; Booker at 33 and Green at 29 a game. Without Brooks (10 straight), Williams (6 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-7 a night and Phoenix minus-2 and the arc, Phoenix at 41 percent from three to Boston's 33. Call it Boston 113, Phoenix 110, Phoenix keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECP C. Porter Jr.
DM D. Mitchell
DS D. Schröder
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
JH J. Harden
JT J. Tyson
KE K. Ellis
SM S. Merrill
SC Schroder
TB T. Bryant
BOSBS B. Scheierman
DW D. White
GO Gonzalez
HG H. González
JB J. Brown
JT J. Tatum
LG L. Garza
NQ N. Queta
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
CLE/BOS 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
Jaylen Brown has 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as Celtics beat Cavaliers 109-98
CLEVELAND -- — Jaylen Brown scored 23 points and Jayson Tatum had 20 in his second game back from a torn right Achilles, lifting the Boston Celtics to a 109-98 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a battle of Eastern Conference contenders on Sunday afternoon.
Brown also had nine rebounds and eight assists as the Celtics built an 81-55 lead in the third quarter, sweeping their three-game season series with Cleveland. Tatum scored six points in the fourth, finishing 6 of 16 from the field in 27 minutes.
Payton Pritchard added 18 points and Baylor Scheierman had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Boston moved within three games of East-leading Detroit. Neemias Queta grabbed 11 boards.
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points and Evan Mobley had 24 points and eight rebounds for the fourth-place Cavaliers, who had won a season-high seven straight at home. James Harden had 19 points and 10 assists.
Cleveland, which is 22-9 since Dec. 29, pulled within 94-86 midway through the fourth on Jaylon Tyson 's 3-pointer. Pritchard answered with a 3-pointer and tacked on back-to-back hoops to restore the Celtics’ double-digit lead.
Tatum scored 14 points in his first 12 minutes, helping Boston take a commanding 48-29 advantage in the second. The Celtics went up 56-35 later in the period on two free throws from Brown, aided by Cleveland shooting 2 of 22 on 3-pointers in the first half.
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen did not play after injuring his right knee Tuesday against Detroit, but coach Kenny Atkinson said he was “trending better.” Mitchell saw his first action since straining his right groin on Feb. 24.
Boston, which began a three-game road trip, will be without center Nikola Vucevic for at least a month after he underwent surgery on his fractured right ring finger Saturday.