The Cleveland Cavaliers are at Rocket Arena for the sixth and final game of their longest homestand of the season, taking on the Los Angeles Clippers! I'll be live updating this page throughout the night.
Join the conversation with your thoughts on the evening below in the comment section.
The Cavs will be missing Lonzo Ball (left knee injury management), Craig Porter Jr. (left hamstring strain), Jarrett Allen (right finger strain), and Sam Merrill (right wrist sprain). The Clippers will have Kawhi Leonard for the first time in 10 games.
Starters:
Clippers - Harden, Dunn, Leonard, Collins, Zubac
Cavs - Garland, Mitchell, Tyson, Hunter, Mobley
FIRST QUARTER
Jaylon Tyson with two early fouls in the first 4:45 of action.
Tyrese Proctor and Dean Wade the first off the bench.
Clippers off to a 15-10 start with Kawhi Leonard and James Harden looking strong out of the gate. Donovan Mitchell's got some adrenaline on Cleveland's side of things. Darius Garland's playmaking continues to be a huge difference-maker.
Nae'Qwan Tomlin checks in for De'Andre Hunter and immediately finishes an up-and-under scoop from Garland. He's an athlete and a half.
Garland-Proctor-Tomlin-Wade-Mobley. Yet another wrinkle for Kenny Atkinson's endless amount of combinations!
Ivica Zubac is winning the entire game in the rebounding department early, while Darius Garland has been the assist leader. Zu with five boards, DG with five dimes. Clippers take time after DG found Evan Mobley for an easy slam. LA up 22-16 with 3:44 left in the first.
Cavs come out of the media timeout in a zone for a couple possessions.
Nice moment and respect from the Rocket Arena crowd for Chris Paul as he checks into what is likely to be his final game appearance in Cleveland, barring a trade or a Finals matchup.
Tomlin and Proctor balled out in their first stint. Qwan had a sick dunk coming down the lane after a Wade steal, then he swatted the heck out of a Harden floater. Cleveland moved the ball up to Proctor for a three to close the quarter on a 7-0 run.
END 1Q: Cavs 27, Clippers 24
LAC: Harden 10p, 3a, 1r. Zubac 6p, 5r. Leonard 4p, 2r.
CLE: Mitchell 9p, 2r, 1a. Proctor 5p, 2r. Tomlin 4p, 1r, stl, blk. Garland 2p, 5a.
SECOND QUARTER
Sorry, got distracted with my wrist up...
Anyhow, Luke Travers checks into the game and Larry Nance Jr. is next in. Cavs getting some downhill drives in tonight despite Zubac in the middle.
Kawhi is drawing fouls on his jump shot tonight. Tyson's got three and Hunter's got two about midway through the first half.
As a result, we've got Garland-Wade-Tomlin-Travers-Nance in as a lineup. That is a thing!
Junior hit a top of the perimeter three and thanked the heavens. He took a charge, too. Wade rebounded the ball and defended well.
Travers sticking in there with the starters! Mitchell finds Mobley sprinting down the floor after a stop for an alley-oop jam. Cavs on a 10-2 run over the last two minutes, up 52-42 with 3:08 left in the half.
Cleveland had a nice second quarter there with a ton of energy from those random combinations! Bench outscored LA 22-6. Cavs doing their best in the rebounding fight against Zubac, too, in a 22-21 matchup.
HALF: Cavs 59, Clippers 52
LAC: Zubac 12p, 10r, 1a. Harden 12p, 4a, 1r, stl. Leonard 12p, 2r, 1a. Dunn 7p, 4a, 1r, stl.
CLE: Mitchell 18p, 4r, 2a. Proctor 10p, 3r. Hunter 9p, 2a, 1r, stl. Mobley 6p, 4r, 1a. Garland 4p, 5a, 1r.
THIRD QUARTER
De'Andre Hunter has a couple of threes to start off the quarter. Nice positioning for him on spot-ups.
Jaylon Tyson's been in foul trouble all evening but he's stayed true to the ball pressure on Harden and Clipper handlers.
Clippers on a 13-6 run after the Cavs went up 71-58. Zubac has 20 points and 15 boards in 25 minutes. Cleveland knew he'd be a problem in this one. Correct thinking.
Donovan Mitchell with two straight and-one drives. That was big for the Cavs to answer that way with LA creeping back in.
My god, Don. What a finish to that third. Dude's a star and then some.
END 3Q: Cavs 92, Clippers 79
LAC: Zubac 22p, 16r, 3a. Harden 20p, 6a, 2r, stl. Leonard 15p, 2r, 2a, 2stl. Dunn 9p, 4r, 2a, stl
CLE: Mitchell 30p, 8r, 4a, stl. Hunter 17p, 3r, 2a, stl. Mobley 10p, 8r, 2a, 2stl, blk. Proctor 10p, 3r, 2a. Wade 5p, 5r, 3a, 3stl. Tomlin 8p, 1r, 1a, stl, blk.
FOURTH QUARTER
Donovan Mitchell is willing this one to the finish line tonight. Clippers are on the second night of a back-to-back and he's probably gonna be too much. Cleveland starts the period with a wild Mobley oop finish after an incredible left-handed block, then Mitchell hits a transition three going to his left. It's 97-79 Cavs only 82 seconds into the frame.
Give Travers some props, he came to play. Just forced a shot-clock violation on an island against Kawhi!
Wade has done a good job attacking those long rebounds this evening. Taking a beating, too.
Nice job from Mobley and Hunter both in the second half. Found a rhythm.
Ty Lue threw in the towel. Cavs are going to close their homestand 4-2 with a solid win.
FINAL: Cavs 120, Clippers 105.