Cavaliers dominate Pelicans 141-118
BY TIM SHIRER
CAVS BEAT WRITER
(CLEVELAND, OH) - Tuesday night the Cleveland Cavaliers (17-14, 11-8 home) welcomed Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans (8-23, 2-11 road) to Rocket Arena. The Cavs coming off a 139-132 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.
The matchup was the first this season between the two teams. The Pelicans hold a slight edge in the all-time series 26-23, but the Cavs do have the edge in Cleveland 16-9. The Cavs have also won the last three meetings including both last season. The Cavs did not disappoint the home crowd winning their second straight game belting the Pelicans in dominating fashion 141-118.
The Cavs were hot early shooting 57% in the first 3:19 taking a 10-7 lead on a layup by Darius Garland who was questionable entering the game. The Cavs continued to shoot well and with 5:33 left on the clock held a 19-13 lead. The Pelicans took a timeout. With 3:15 left in the first quarter Craig Porter, Jr. hit a three to put the Cavs up 25-17. Jaylon Tyson buried a three with 1:09 left on the clock building the Cavs lead to 30-17. With :49.2 left on the clock Thomas Bryant was called for his second foul of the quarter. To say Bryant was beside himself after the call would be an understatement. When the buzzer sounded the Cavs held 32-22 lead after one quarter. Tyson was leading all scorers after one with seven points. Saddiq Bey paced the Pelicans with six points. The Cavs shot 52% (13 of 25) from the field, while the Pelicans shot 41% (9 of 22). The Cavs also outrebounded the Pelicans 13-10.
With 2:40 gone in the second quarter, the Cavs lead was at 41-23. The Pelicans retaliated and within the next 40 seconds cut the Cavs lead to ten points. With 5:17 left in the half the Pelicans cut the Cavs lead to eight points at 52-44 after going on a 21-11 run over a four-minute period. The game remained an 8-to-10-point lead for the Cavs over the next several minutes until the Pelicans cut the lead to five points when Jarrett Allen fouled Zion Williamson with 3:26 left on the clock. Williamson missed the free throw but had another opportunity when the Cavs committed a lane violation and he took advantage. After the Cavs turned the ball over Williamson scored again cutting the Cleveland lead to 59-56 with 3:11 left in the first half. With 1:12 left the Cavs lead was 63-56 when Donovan Mitchell drove the lane and scored. Sam Merrill then hit a three with :35.0 left giving Cleveland a 66-58 lead. With :03.1 left Merrill hit another three giving the Cavs a 69-60 halftime lead. Merrill and Williamson led all scorers with 14 points apiece in the opening half. The Pelicans shot 67% (14 of 21) in the second quarter from the field to finish the first half shooting 54% (23 of 43) while the Cavs shot 51% (28 of 55). The Cavs continued to outrebound New Orleans 25-20. The Pelicans turned the ball over 10 times in the first half resulting in 16 Cavs points while the Cavs committed seven turnovers and the Pelicans took advantage scoring 12 points.
With 8:44 left in the third quarter Garland gave the Cavs a 79-70 lead when he drained a three. After the Pelicans failed to score at the other end Merrill dropped in a three with 8:23 left, the Cavs led 82-70 and Pelicans coach James Borrego took a timeout. The Cavs methodically built the lead back to 17 points at 91-74 with 5:42 left in the third when Garland found Jaylon Tyson in the corner and Tyson drained a three. With 3:21 left the Cavs took a 100-81 lead when Tyson dunk after a Pelicans turnover. Then with :49.4 left in the third Mitchell scored in the paint and the Cavs led 108-84. As the buzzer sounded the Cavs led 110-91. Williamson was leading all scorers with 22 points through three. Mitchell led the Cavs with 21 points. The Cavs were shooting 55% (45 of 82) through three and the Pelicans were shooting 51% (34 of 66). Points of turnovers continued to haunt the Pelicans as they had turned the ball over 13 times, and the Cavs scored 23 points as a result. The Cavs dominated the boards in the third quarter 14-6 and led that battle 39-26 after three.
The fourth quarter was your basic garbage time, something the Cavs have not experienced very much this season. With 5:21 left Merrill hit Allen in the paint, and the big man slammed the thunderous dunk home giving Cleveland a 128-109 lead. With 4:03 left in the game Allen lined up for a three and nailed it giving Cleveland a 133-109 lead. The three by Allen was his first three pointer since the 2022-23 season. The sellout crowd of 19,432 erupted celebrating Allen’s accomplishment.
Mitchell led everyone in scoring with 27 points. Merrill had 22 points. Allen finished with 14 points and one rebound shy of a double with nine boards. Williamson led the Pelicans in defeat with 26.
Cleveland shot 53% (56 of 105) from the field while the Pelicans shot 46% (43 of 94). Both teams shot very well from three-point range. The Pelicans were 11 of 26 for 42% and the Cavs shot 41 hitting 20 of 49 from long range. The Cavs in a rare occurrence won the battle of the boards 49-43. Turnovers were a significant factor in the win as the Pelicans turned the ball over 16 times, which accounted for 27 Cavs points. The Cavs also dominated in the paint, outscoring New Orleans 72-54 down low. The Cavs were 9 of 11 from the free throw line and are 28 of 30 in their last two contests from the charity stripe.
The Cavs will have the day off on Wednesday before they travel to New York to face the Knicks on Christmas Day at 12 pm. The Cavs are 7-7 on Christmas. They are 6-0 at home and 1-7 on the road. The game will be the first time the Cavs have played on Christmas since 2017 and the first time they have ever played the New York Knicks. The Knicks have played 57 times on Christmas and are 25-32 all-time..
POSTED 12/23/2025 22:15
Lake County Sentinel
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Cavs point guard Craig Porter, Jr. attempts to score at the buzzer at the end of the first quarter in the Cavs 141-118 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night at Rocket Arena. Photo by Tommy Shirer
