{"id":509697,"date":"2026-01-01T11:15:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T11:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/509697\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T11:15:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T11:15:52","slug":"cavaliers-score-recap-vs-phoenix-as-mitchell-leads-cleveland-over-suns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/509697\/","title":{"rendered":"Cavaliers score, recap vs Phoenix as Mitchell leads Cleveland over Suns"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND \u2014\u00a0The Cavaliers<\/a> faced a difficult test from the West in a New Year’s Eve matchup with the Phoenix Suns<\/a> at Rocket Arena and came away with a win, 129-113.<\/p>\n

The Cavs (19-16) were coming off of a three-game road trip that concluded with a win over the San Antonio Spurs<\/a>, though it also included a key loss on Christmas to the New York Knicks<\/a>, now the favorites in the East.<\/p>\n

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Here’s how the Dec. 31 game between the Cavs and Suns unfolded. <\/p>\n

\"Dec<\/p>\n

Dec 31, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts after being fouled and making the basket during the first half against the Phoenix Suns at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Cavs beat the Suns <\/p>\n

The Cavs have beaten the Suns, 129-113.<\/p>\n

Donovan Mitchell finished with 34 points (10-for-18), 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals. The Cavs had three players with double-doubles tonight, including Mitchell, Evan Mobley (16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) and Jarrett Allen (16 points, 11 rebounds, three assists). Jaylon Tyson finished with 18 points and three assists.<\/p>\n

Cavs pull away, led by Donovan Mitchell, Jaylon Tyson <\/p>\n

Donovan Mitchell and Jaylon Tyson put together terrific fourth quarters, and the Cavs are cruising to a win, now up 129-107 with 2:06 left in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

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Mitchell and Tyson have scored 10 points each on a combined 7-for-9 from the floor in the fourth quarter, and the Suns offense hit a dry spell, allowing Cleveland to open up a sizable lead.<\/p>\n

Cavs end third quarter with 5-0 run <\/p>\n

Led by Devin Booker, the Suns momentarily cut Cleveland’s lead to two points before Sam Merrill hit a corner 3 and Evan Mobley got a runner in the final seconds to fall, and the Cavs will take a 96-89 lead into the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

Booker was tremendous in the third quarter, pouring in 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the floor.<\/p>\n

Cavs, Suns score: Cleveland leads Phoenix late in third quarter <\/p>\n

The Cavs are maintaining a nine-point advantage and lead the Suns 88-79 with 4:58 left in the third quarter.<\/p>\n

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This game has featured a lot of back-and-forth between Donovan Mitchell and Dillon Brooks. Mitchell is up to 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Brooks has had a strong day offensively with 20 points, but he also just picked up his third and fourth fouls in quick succession.<\/p>\n

Devin Booker has been a problem for the Cavs in the third quarter. He now has 23 points today.<\/p>\n

Suns 8-0 run cuts into Cavaliers lead<\/p>\n

The Cavs opened up a 19-point lead that was quickly trimmed to 11, leading to a quick timeout from Kenny Atkinson. With 9:36 left in the third, the Cavs now lead 75-64.<\/p>\n

Devin Booker hit a jumper and was followed by Collin Gillespie, who drilled back-to-back 3s to lead to a frustrated Cavs timeout.<\/p>\n

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It is also notable that even without De’Andre Hunter out with an illness, Lonzo Ball has still not played tonight. The Cavs have utilized a nine-man rotation.<\/p>\n

\"Dec<\/p>\n

Dec 31, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jaylon Tyson (20) reacts after making a there point basket during the first half against the Phoenix Suns at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Dillon Brooks fouls Donovan Mitchell hard; Cavaliers lead Suns by 13 at halftime <\/p>\n

Of course the first half included a hard, away-from-the-play foul from Dillon Brooks.<\/p>\n

As Donovan Mitchell tried to run down the court following a Suns possession, Brooks initiated contact, leading to additional free throws for Mitchell, who has a game-high 21 points. Brooks had a 20-point first half that also included him, at different points, yelling at teammates, officials and finally his own coaches.<\/p>\n

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Along with his 21 points (including 8-for-9 from the free throw line), Mitchell has seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Darius Garland had a quiet first half with seven points (3-for-7). Evan Mobley was 5-for-6 from the floor for 11 points and seven rebounds.<\/p>\n

\"Dec<\/p>\n

Dec 31, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade (32) during the first half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Donovan Mitchell makes highlight-reel layup, Cavs lead Suns after first quarter <\/p>\n

The Cavs had a near-perfect first quarter, out-scoring the Suns 37-21 in the first 12 minutes. It included, late in the quarter, a circus layup from Donovan Mitchell that he made while hitting the floor from contact in transition.<\/p>\n

Mitchell has a game-high 10 points on 3-for-6 shooting from the floor. Dillon Brooks has a team-high eight points for the Suns.<\/p>\n

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The Cavs shot 50 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from 3-point range in the first quarter.<\/p>\n

Cavs, Suns score: Sam Merrill hits back-to-back 3s <\/p>\n

Sam Merrill came off the bench and hit back-to-back 3s, which has the Cavaliers<\/a> up 18-8 with 7:26 left in the first quarter.<\/p>\n

Donovan Mitchell is 2-for-4 with 5 points thus far.<\/p>\n

Below is some pregame information. <\/p>\n

Cavs injury report vs Suns; De’Andre Hunter a late scratch<\/p>\n

Cavs guard Max Strus (foot) has yet to make his season debut following offseason surgery and remains out. Forward Larry Nance Jr. isn’t expected to play due to a strained right calf. Guard Sam Merrill (hip) is expected to be available.<\/p>\n

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An hour before tip-off, the Cavs also announced that forward De’Andre Hunter would be out with an illness.<\/p>\n

Cavaliers unveil city edition uniforms<\/p>\n

The Cavs unveiled their new City Edition uniforms<\/a> Nov. 11.<\/p>\n

How can I watch\/stream\/listen to the Cavs vs Suns game?<\/p>\n

The Dec. 31 Cavs-Suns game can be watched on NBA TV. It can heard on the radio on 100.7 WMMS, 1100 WTAM and S: LA MEGA 1300.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavs score vs Phoenix Suns game recap, highlights<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND \u2014\u00a0The Cavaliers faced a difficult test from the West in a New Year’s Eve matchup with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3791],"tags":[7,306,305,4216,791,2292,1195,864,576,1178,2286,2988,4442,872,6,191,2065,472,4045,1166,474,604,2149,6445],"class_list":["post-509697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-phoenix-suns","tag-basketball","tag-cavaliers","tag-cleveland","tag-collin-gillespie","tag-darius-garland","tag-devin-booker","tag-dillon-brooks","tag-donovan-mitchell","tag-evan-mobley","tag-jarrett-allen","tag-jaylon-tyson","tag-larry-nance-jr","tag-lonzo-ball","tag-max-strus","tag-nba","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-phoenix","tag-phoenix-suns","tag-phoenixsuns","tag-sam-merrill","tag-san-antonio-spurs","tag-suns","tag-the-cavs","tag-the-suns"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115819564209172183","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}