Cavaliers ground the Clippers 120-105
BY TIM SHIRER
CAVS BEAT WRITER
(CLEVELAND, OH) - Sunday night at Rocket Arena the Cleveland Cavaliers (12-6, 8-3 home) welcomed former Cavs coach Tyronn Lue and the Los Angeles Clippers (5-12, 2-7 road) to town.
The game was the first of a back-to-back, so the Cavs were without Jarrett Allen, Lonzo Ball and Craig Porter, Jr. Sam Merrill was already out after suffering another in a lengthy list of injuries in his time in Cleveland. Max Strus was also out after having foot surgery in the offseason. Even shorthanded the Cavs took care of business easily taking down the Clippers 120-105.
The Clippers jumped out to a 6-0 lead and then 7-3, the Cavs cut the lead to 7-6 when De’Andre Hunter hit three from the corner with 9:38 left on the clock. The Clippers responded with an 8-2 run to take a 15-8 lead with 7:05 left when Kawhi Leonard scored in the paint. Tonight was Leonard’s first action of the season. With 5:16 left in the opening quarter the Clippers took a 20-12 lead when James Harden drove the lane and scored. With 3:44 left the Cavs cut the lead to 22-16 and Lue called a timeout. One thing you know when James Harden comes to town, you know the foul count will increase. Before Harden went to the line to give the Clippers a 24-18 lead Chris Paul entered the game for the Clippers. Paul announced earlier this week that this will be his final season. Paul was acknowledged by the Cavs organization and waved to the crowd as the 19,432 in attendance gave him a nice ovation. With :41.9 left in the opening quarter, the Cavs cut the lead to 24-22 when Tyrese Proctor hit a couple free throws. The game was then tied 24-24 when Nae’Qwan Tomlin slammed the ball home with :29 left. Then after a block by Tomlin at the other end Proctor hit three to give the Cavs their first lead of the game 27-24. That’s where things stood at the end of the quarter. Harden led all scorers with 10 points. Mitchell led the Cavs with nine first quarter points. The Cavs outshot the Clippers from the field in the first quarter 55% (11 of 20) to 42% (10 of 24). The Cavs also out did L.A. from long range 27% (3 of11) to 0% (0 of 6). The Cavs did slightly outrebound the Clipper 11-10.
The Cavs lead had as large as seven points early in the third quarter but was cut to three points at 38-35 with 7:50 left when Leonard drained a three. The Cavs extended their lead to 45-40 on a rare three by Larry Nance, Jr. with 5:17 left in the half. The Cavs then took a 48-42 lead with 3:46 left when Luke Travers stole the ball and hit Mitchell who drained a three. Then with 3:08 remaining in the first half the Cavs’ lead was double digits when Mitchell hit Evan Mobley in the paint and he smashed it home giving the Cavs a 52-42 lead. As time ran out in the second quarter the Cavs took a 59-52 lead into the locker room. Mitchell led all scorers with 18 first half points. The Clippers had three players with 12 first half points, Harden, Leonard, and Ivica Zubac. The Cavs shot 55% (23 of 42) in the first half from the field while the Clippers shot 43% (19 of 44). The Cavs also outshot the Clippers from long range 35% (8 of 23) to 27% (4 of 15). The Clippers held a slight edge at the half on the boards 22-21.
The Cavs lead expanded to 74-61 with 7:57 remaining in the third quarter when Mitchell drained a three from in from of the Cleveland bench. The Clippers did cut the Cleveland lead to 77-71 with 4:29 left and Cavs bench boss Kenny Atkinson took an immediate timeout to calm his troops. The Cavs lead shrunk to one point with 3:24 remaining when Nicolas Batum drained a three pointer the Clippers trailed 77-76. The Cavs scored six straight points to take a 83-76 lead with 2:42 left when Mitchell scored and was fouled. The Cavs lead was back to double digits at 92-79 as the third quarter ended when Mitchell found Mobley in the paint and he slammed it home. After three quarters Mitchell the game in scoring with 30. Zubac led the Clippers with 22. The Cavs continued to lead in every offensive category and had the edge on the boards 33-31.
The Cavs put away any doubts who would win the game in the first 1:22 of the final quarter when they scored the first five points to take a 97-79 lead. Lue took a timeout in an attempt to thwart the Cleveland momentum. The Clippers then went on a run and cut the Cleveland lead to 99-87 with 8:05 left in regulation. Atkinson took an immediate timeout. With 7:00 left Paul scored and received a nice ovation from the sellout crowd. The Clippers kept the game close, cutting the Cavs lead to 11 with 4:22 left when Paul hit Zubac in the paint. With 2:30 left and the Cavs leading by 20 after an 8-0 Cavs run Atkinson made mass substitutions. As time ran out the Cavs secured the 120-105 win.
Mitchell led all scorers with 37 points it was the tenth time this season that the MVP contender eclipsed the 30-point mark. Zubac scored 33 leading the Clippers in the losing effort.
The Cavs led the Clippers in every offensive category with the exception of free throws where the Clippers outshot Cleveland 89% (23 of 26) to 65% (13 of 20). Mobley continued to struggle from the charity stripe as he went 0 for 4. Cleveland had a slight edge on the boards 41-40.
The Cavs will now head across the boarder to take on the Toronto Raptors (11-5, 4-2 home) in Canada at Scotia Bank Arena on Monday night at 7 pm. The Cavs have had trouble with the Raptors this season dropping the first two meetings in Cleveland 112-101 (October 31) and 126-113 (November 13). The Cavs do hold the all-time series lead against the Raptors 60-53, but the Raptors have a slight edge in Toronto 30-26. The game will be broadcast on Peacock.
POSTED 11/23/2025 20:53
Lake County Sentinel
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Los Angeles Clippers guard and future hall of famer Chris Paul is acknowledged by the Rocket Arena sellout crowd on Sunday night. Paul announced earlier this week he is retiring from the NBA after 21 season at the end of the current season. Photo by Tommy Shirer
