Cleveland Cavaliers @ New Orleans Pelicans
Saturday, March 21, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA | Game ID: 22501025
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NOP 28 28 32 18 106CLE 34 19 23 35 111
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Donovan Mitchell and James Harden power the Cavaliers past the Pelicans 111-106
NEW ORLEANS -- — Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points and James Harden , held scoreless in the first half, added 20 second-half points to power the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 111-106 comeback victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.
Cleveland trailed 88-76 entering the final period, but outscored the Pelicans 35-18 in the fourth — with Harden scoring 13 and Mitchell 12 in the quarter. It was the Cavaliers’ eighth victory in their last nine games against New Orleans, which had its seven-game home winning streak snapped.
Harden made three 3-pointers and a layup in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to spark an 18-7 run, and the Cavs took the lead for good, 100-99, on a layup by Max Strus , during a 15-7 surge.
Zion Williams, who picked up three early fouls and was quiet offensively in the first half, scored 15 of his team-high 25 points in the third quarter. In a 2:16 span of the third, Williamson scored 11 points and assisted on a 3-pointer by Saddiq Bey in the left corner during a 14-2 run that gave the Pelicans a 72-61 lead. Bey finished with 19.
The Cavaliers’ defense crowded Trey Murphy away from the 3-point line, and Herb Jones, not normally a threat from long range, went 4 of 10 from deep for 12 first-half points as New Orleans took a 56-53 halftime lead.
Cleveland raced to a 31-18 lead on the strength of Mitchell’s nine first-quarter points and 10 team assists on 12 made field goals, but New Orleans closed the period on a 10-0 run.
Harden, who scored a team-high 36 points in a 115-110 victory over Chicago on Thursday, had five assists in the first half.
Up next Cavaliers: Host the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.
Pelicans: Play at the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLEDM D. Mitchell
DS D. Schröder
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
JH J. Harden
KE K. Ellis
MS M. Strus
NT N. Tomlin
SM S. Merrill
SC Schroder
TB T. Bryant
NOPDM D. Murray
DQ D. Queen
HJ H. Jones
JF J. Fears
KM K. Matković
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