CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers have been chasing consistency throughout this disappointing season.
Capturing a 141-118 win during the second night of a back-to-back on Dec. 23 against the New Orleans Pelicans represented progress for the Cavs. The Pelicans have one of the worst records in the NBA, yet they arrived in Cleveland on a five-game winning streak.
The Cavs snapped a three-game losing streak on Dec. 22 with a 139-132 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Now Cleveland has won two in a row.
Here is how Cavs (17-14) versus Pelicans (8-23) unfolded through our updates:
Guard Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with a game-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field (2 of 6 on 3-pointers) to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Guard Sam Merrill added 22 points, six rebounds and seven assists. And small forward Jaylon Tyson finished with 18 points, six rebounds and two assists off the bench.
The Cavs outrebounded the Pelicans 49-43. Center Jarrett Allen led the Cavs with nine rebounds to go along with 14 points. Backup guard Craig Porter Jr. grabbed eight rebounds, dished out eight assists and scored 12 points. Cleveland also outscored New Orleans 74-52 in the paint.
The Cavs had nine players score in double figures for the second time in franchise history and the first time since Nov. 10, 1992.
The Cavs had a season-high 40 assists. Porter and point guard Darius Garland had eight assists apiece.
The Cavs also went 20-of-49 shooting on 3-pointers a night after they made a season-high 24 3s against the Hornets.
Forward Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 26 points. Rookie center Derik Queen scored 21 points.
The blowout will stand. The Cavs led 135-109 with 3:49 left in the fourth quarter after center Jarrett Allen made a rare 3-pointer from the top of the key and wing De’Andre Hunter dunked on a fast break.
It was Allen’s first successful 3 this season and his first since Jan. 29, 2023.
The Cavs called timeout while leading by 18 points after Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado made a 3-pointer with 8:10 left in the fourth quarter.
The Cavs have had control throughout the second half, leading by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter. But the Pelicans answered with a 7-0 run, and Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson would rather avoid a dramatic rally by the visiting team.
Pelicans rookie center Derik Queen made a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in the third quarter, but the Cavs led 110-91 entering the fourth quarter.
The Cavs outscored the Pelicans 41-31 in the third quarter.
All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell scored 13 points in the third quarter and entered the final quarter with 21. He trailed only Pelicans forward Zion Williamson’s 22 points.
The Cavs led 102-81 with 2:38 left in the third quarter. Backup point guard Craig Porter Jr. sent the Pelicans into a timeout with a steal and a putback on a miss by Cavs small forward De’Andre Hunter on the other end of the floor.
Porter had 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals at this stage of the game. In the third quarter alone, he had seven points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field.
Point guard Darius Garland and shooting guard Sam Merrill drained back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Cavs an 82-70 lead.
The Pelicans responded by using a timeout with 8:23 left in the third quarter.
Garland also hit a 3 earlier in the third quarter, giving him six points early in the second half after he scored four in the first half.
Cavs guard Sam Merrill went from uncharacteristically airballing a 3-pointer with 7:43 left in the second quarter to catching fire shortly before halftime.
Merrill drained 3s with 34 and 3.1 seconds left, accounting for the Cavs’ final six points of the first half. They led the Pelicans 69-60 at halftime.
Merrill went 5-of-8 shooting from the field (4 of 6 on 3-pointers) for 14 points through two quarters. Forward Dean Wade contributed 11 points as guards Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland were relatively quiet in the first half with eight and four points, respectively.
Forward Zion Williamson came off the bench and led the Pelicans with 14 points in the first half. All six of his field goals were dunks or layups, so the Cavs might want to defend him with some force in the second half if they’re serious about winning this game.
The Pelicans’ strength is points in the paint. The Cavs held a 36-34 edge in the category at halftime and also outrebounded the Pelicans 25-20 through two quarters.
Cavs guard Sam Merrill isn’t himself when he’s airballing a 3-pointer like he did in the second quarter. This is Merrill’s second game back from a 14-game absence caused by a sprained right shooting hand, so it’s understandable if he’s still rusty and/or bothered by the hand.
However, Merrill is impacting the game. His offensive rebound and putback gave the Cavs a 54-44 lead with 5:01 left in the second quarter and pushed the Pelicans into a timeout.
The Cavs led the Pelicans 32-22 at the end of the first quarter.
Small forward Jaylon Tyson led the Cavs in the first quarter with seven points off the bench. Forward Dean Wade added six points.
Pelicans forwards Saddiq Bey and Trey Murphy III had six and five points, respectively.
The Cavs have struggled mightily with rebounding this season. They outrebounded the Pelicans 13-10 in the first quarter, though, and will need to keep it going.
Small forward Jaylon Tyson came off the bench and missed two open 3-pointers in the first quarter, but he kept playing hard and gave the Cavs the type of energy they have needed more often this season.
Tyson drove for a layup with 1:48 left in the first quarter and tapped the ball out to guard Donovan Mitchell on the next possession for an offensive rebound. Mitchell then passed to Tyson, and Tyson drained his third 3-point attempt from the right base line, elevating the Cavs to a 30-17 advantage with 1:09 remaining.
The Cavs led 19-13 with 5:33 left in the first quarter during a Pelicans timeout.
Cleveland started the game 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Forward Dean Wade made his first two shots, both of which were 3-pointers, and led the Cavs with six points at this early checkpoint.
The Cavs led the Pelicans 10-9 during a Cleveland timeout with 8:06 left in the first quarter.
Atkinson used a timeout after the Pelicans burned his team’s poor transition defense. Rookie center Derik Queen threw an alley-oop pass to forward Trey Murphy III, cutting Cleveland’s lead to one point.
Below is some pregame information.
After the Cavs beat the Hornets on Dec. 22, point guard Darius Garland said he planned to play in consecutive games for the first time this season as he works his way back to full strength after undergoing toe surgery in June.
The Cavs listed Garland as questionable to face the Pelicans due to a new injury — a left quadriceps contusion. Atkinson said Garland would test his quad in warm-ups to determine whether he would play.
About 45 minutes before tip-off, the Cavs announced Garland is available to face the Pelicans.
Darius Garland provides injury update after Cavs lose to Bulls. Video
Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland provides an update on his surgically repaired toe after scoring 35 points in a loss to the Bulls. Here’s video.
The Cavs have ruled out six players against the Pelicans. They are point guard Lonzo Ball (left knee injury management), forward Evan Mobley (left calf strain), small forward Max Strus (left foot surgery), forward/center Larry Nance Jr. (right calf strain), forward Chris Livingston (two-way contract) and forward Luke Travers (two-way contract).
The Cavs announced they will start the following players against the Pelicans: Guards Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell and Sam Merrill, forward Dean Wade and center Jarrett Allen.
Merrill returned from a 14-game absence caused by a right hand sprain on Dec. 22 and came off the bench against the Hornets. Now he’s back in the starting lineup. The Cavs initially announced Jaylon Tyson would start against the Pelicans, but they later swapped Tyson with Merrill.
The Pelicans ruled out wing Herb Jones (right ankle sprain), guard Dejounte Murray (right Achilles rupture), center Hunter Dickinson, (two-way contract) and guard Trey Alexander (two-way contract).
The Pelicans also listed guard Jordan Poole (left ankle soreness) as questionable to face the Cavs. Later, the Pelicans ruled out Poole.
The Cavs will visit the New York Knicks at noon on Dec. 25 for one of the NBA’s five games on Christmas Day. The nationally televised game can be viewed on ABC and ESPN.
Unlike the Cavs, the Knicks have been living up to the hype this season. Entering Dec. 23’s games, the Knicks were 20-8 and second in the Eastern Conference.
The local TV broadcast of the Cavs-Pelicans game on Dec. 23 can be viewed via FanDuel Sports Network — Ohio. The radio broadcast can be heard locally via WTAM (1100-AM) or WMMS (100.7-FM).
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.