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2026-27 · Regular season
Cleveland Cavaliers beat Brooklyn Nets 125-121 as Jarrett Allen scores 21 and Cleveland holds off a 41-point Nets fourth quarter
Jarrett Allen scored 21 on 7-of-8 shooting and Donovan Mitchell 22 as the Cavaliers won their home opener 125-121. Brooklyn cut a 24-point deficit to two behind Michael Porter Jr.'s 28 and Egor Demin's five threes.
In this article
Jarrett Allen scored 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting, Donovan Mitchell added 22 and the Cleveland Cavaliers survived a 41-point Brooklyn fourth quarter to beat the Nets 125-121 in their home opener at Rocket Arena on Saturday, October 24. Cleveland led 104-80 with 9:29 left and won by four after Michael Porter Jr.’s three with 8.1 seconds left made it a two-point game.
The Cavaliers evened their record at 1-1 after an opening loss in Philadelphia. Brooklyn fell to 0-2 despite 28 points from Porter, 23 from Julius Randle and 22 from second-year guard Egor Demin, who made five threes.
Video: NBA / X.
How it turned
Brooklyn led 30-29 late in the first quarter before Cleveland scored the last six points of the period and the first five of the second, including back-to-back Mario Hezonja threes, to go up 40-30. The Nets got back within 45-44, but the Cavaliers answered with a 15-2 run. Allen hit a 25-foot three and a driving layup, Day’Ron Sharpe was called for a flagrant 1 foul, and James Harden at the line, Mitchell, Peyton Watson and Tyrese Proctor followed for a 60-46 lead. Cleveland led 68-52 at halftime.
The margin held at 96-80 after three quarters, and two Jaylon Tyson threes early in the fourth pushed it to 104-80. Then Brooklyn’s shooters caught fire. Rookie Mikel Brown Jr. hit threes from 30 and 33 feet, and Demin made three threes in 47 seconds as the Nets cut it to 108-97. Sharpe was called for a second flagrant 1 with 6:54 left and was ejected, and Cleveland steadied itself again with two Allen dunks for a 116-99 lead.
Brooklyn kept coming. Demin’s four-point play and a Porter three started a 17-5 finish, Chaney Johnson’s 25-foot three made it 120-114 with 33.6 seconds left, and the Nets were within 120-116 moments later. Harden made two free throws, Randle answered with a dunk, and after Harden split two more, Porter’s 23-footer cut it to 123-121. Sam Merrill made both free throws with 5.2 seconds left, and Josh Minott’s 31-foot try at the buzzer missed.
The numbers
Cleveland shot 40-of-79, made 16 threes, scored 46 points in the paint and handed out 31 assists while blocking 10 shots. Evan Mobley had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, Tyson scored 15 off the bench with three threes, and Hezonja added 9. Harden made just 1 of 8 shots, a four-point play in the first quarter, but went 9-of-11 at the line and had 7 assists and 8 rebounds. The Cavaliers did turn it over 23 times.
Brooklyn’s side
The Nets made 20 of 49 threes and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, but they shot 39-of-98 overall and committed 20 turnovers. Porter shot 10-of-18 with 9 rebounds and 4 steals. Randle had 23 points and 5 assists on 7-of-12 shooting, and Demin scored 22 on 5-of-10 shooting, all of his field goals threes, with 6 assists. Johnson added 10 points and Brown 8 points with 5 assists.
What’s next
The Nets host the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, October 25, at 6 p.m. ET (1 a.m. Monday Cairo time). The Cavaliers host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, October 26, at 7 p.m. ET (2 a.m. Tuesday Cairo time).
Full box score and play-by-play: Game Center. All-time head-to-head.
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