Donovan Mitchell scored 27 for the Cleveland Cavaliers; Zion Williamson scored 25 for the New Orleans Pelicans.

Cleveland Cavaliers at New Orleans Pelicans

2025-26 · Regular season Sat, Mar 21, 2026 · 7:00 pm EDT · All results that day · Cleveland Cavaliers vs New Orleans Pelicans head-to-head · Cleveland Cavaliers schedule · New Orleans Pelicans schedule

Final

Away

New Orleans Pelicans

106

Venue: Smoothie King Center

Schedule source: whynba · Observed Oct 9, 2026, 06:29 UTC.

Game recap

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 111-106 on the road on Saturday, March 21, 2026 at Smoothie King Center. Donovan Mitchell had 27 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Zion Williamson had 25 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Cleveland Cavaliers trailed 56-53 at halftime and came back to win. Their best stretch was the fourth quarter, won 35-18. Double-digit figures in two or more categories: James Harden (double-double, Cleveland Cavaliers), Sam Merrill (double-double, Cleveland Cavaliers). Bench points: Cleveland Cavaliers 24, New Orleans Pelicans 28. James Harden had 20 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists in support for the winners.

Written by the whynba data desk from the licensed final box score and period scores.

Score source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 2026, 06:29:14 UTC. Source update time is unavailable.

Quick answers

Who won Cleveland Cavaliers vs New Orleans Pelicans?: The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 111-106 on March 21, 2026.
Who led the scoring?: Donovan Mitchell scored 27 for the Cleveland Cavaliers; Zion Williamson scored 25 for the New Orleans Pelicans.

Box score

Score by quarter
Team	q1	q2	q3	q4	Final
Cleveland Cavaliers	34	19	23	35	111
New Orleans Pelicans	28	28	32	18	106

Game leaders

Cleveland Cavaliers

Points: 27 Donovan Mitchell
Rebounds: 10 Sam Merrill
Assists: 10 James Harden

New Orleans Pelicans

Points: 25 Zion Williamson
Rebounds: 10 Yves Missi
Assists: 9 Dejounte Murray

James Harden double-double (20 PTS, 10 AST) · Sam Merrill double-double (15 PTS, 10 REB)

Cleveland Cavaliers
Player	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3P	FT	PF	+/−
Donovan Mitchell starter	39:00	27	7	3	1	0	1	9-23	3-8	6-7	1	-3
James Harden starter	36:16	20	6	10	1	1	2	8-17	4-9	0-0	2	+14
Sam Merrill starter	32:05	15	10	2	0	0	1	5-9	3-7	2-2	2	+5
Evan Mobley starter	30:26	18	8	3	1	2	2	8-10	0-1	2-5	3	+0
Dean Wade starter	23:17	7	5	3	2	0	1	3-6	1-4	0-0	1	+11
Max Strus bench	24:14	5	8	2	0	0	1	2-5	1-4	0-0	2	-6
Keon Ellis bench	22:43	7	2	1	1	0	1	2-6	0-3	3-4	3	+13
Thomas Bryant bench	14:44	11	8	1	0	1	1	5-7	0-1	1-2	2	-6
Dennis Schröder bench	13:22	1	1	1	0	0	3	0-4	0-2	1-2	0	-4
NaeQwan Tomlin bench	3:53	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-1	0-0	0-0	1	+1

Not available: Jarrett Allen, Craig Porter, Tyrese Proctor, Jaylon Tyson, Olivier Sarr

New Orleans Pelicans
Player	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3P	FT	PF	+/−
Trey Murphy III starter	40:31	10	6	0	1	2	1	3-10	2-8	2-2	2	-6
Saddiq Bey starter	36:23	19	5	4	0	0	1	6-14	4-8	3-3	4	+9
Zion Williamson starter	32:17	25	6	4	1	0	1	10-14	0-0	5-9	3	-9
Herbert Jones starter	31:19	12	3	3	1	1	0	4-12	4-11	0-0	5	-7
Dejounte Murray starter	29:58	12	3	9	1	0	2	4-13	1-6	3-3	0	-2
Yves Missi bench	24:11	6	10	3	1	3	1	3-7	0-0	0-0	2	+4
Jeremiah Fears bench	18:02	7	3	3	0	0	1	3-11	1-5	0-0	0	-3
Derik Queen bench	15:09	9	3	4	3	0	2	3-5	0-1	3-3	1	+0
Karlo Matkovic bench	12:10	6	1	0	2	1	0	3-4	0-1	0-0	2	-11

Not available: Bryce McGowens

Team statistics
Cleveland Cavaliers	Stat	New Orleans Pelicans
15/22 (68%)	Free throws	16/20 (80%)
30/49 (61%)	2 pointers	27/50 (54%)
12/39 (30%)	3 pointers	12/40 (30%)
42/88 (47%)	Field goals	39/90 (43%)
55	Rebounds	40
41	Defensive rebounds	30
14	Offensive rebounds	10
26	Assists	30
13	Turnovers	9
6	Steals	10
4	Blocks	7
17	Fouls	19
13	Max points in a row	10
24:16	Time spent in lead	21:35
13	Biggest lead	15

Scoring margin by minute (above the line: New Orleans Pelicans ahead)

Largest margin: 15 points.

Game flow

Lead changes: 4
Times tied: 3
Largest lead · Cleveland Cavaliers: 13 Q1 2:21
Largest lead · New Orleans Pelicans: 15 Q4 10:13
Longest run: 13-0 Cleveland Cavaliers · Q4 9:05 to Q4 6:56

Scoring plays

Q1 · 32 scoring plays

Scoring plays · Q1
Time left	Team	Play	Cleveland Cavaliers	New Orleans Pelicans
11:39	Cleveland Cavaliers	Sam Merrill 3-pt field goal	3	0
11:17	New Orleans Pelicans	Saddiq Bey 2-pt field goal	3	2
11:11	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell 2-pt field goal	5	2
10:12	New Orleans Pelicans	Dejounte Murray 3-pt field goal	5	5
9:44	New Orleans Pelicans	Herbert Jones 3-pt field goal	5	8
9:25	Cleveland Cavaliers	Dean Wade 2-pt field goal	7	8
8:56	Cleveland Cavaliers	Evan Mobley 2-pt field goal	9	8
8:33	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell 2-pt field goal	11	8
7:52	New Orleans Pelicans	Saddiq Bey 2-pt field goal	11	10
7:52	New Orleans Pelicans	Saddiq Bey Free throw	11	11
7:42	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell Free throw	12	11
7:42	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell Free throw	13	11
6:13	Cleveland Cavaliers	Sam Merrill 3-pt field goal	16	11
5:52	New Orleans Pelicans	Yves Missi 2-pt field goal	16	13
5:38	Cleveland Cavaliers	Evan Mobley Free throw	17	13
5:38	Cleveland Cavaliers	Evan Mobley Free throw	18	13
5:13	Cleveland Cavaliers	Evan Mobley 2-pt field goal	20	13
4:50	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson 2-pt field goal	20	15
4:50	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson Free throw	20	16
4:33	Cleveland Cavaliers	Max Strus 3-pt field goal	23	16
4:18	New Orleans Pelicans	Yves Missi 2-pt field goal	23	18
3:38	Cleveland Cavaliers	Thomas Bryant 2-pt field goal	25	18
3:12	Cleveland Cavaliers	Keon Ellis Free throw	26	18
3:12	Cleveland Cavaliers	Keon Ellis Free throw	27	18
2:49	Cleveland Cavaliers	Thomas Bryant 2-pt field goal	29	18
2:21	Cleveland Cavaliers	Thomas Bryant 2-pt field goal	31	18
1:58	New Orleans Pelicans	Yves Missi 2-pt field goal	31	20
1:26	New Orleans Pelicans	Derik Queen 2-pt field goal	31	22
1:26	New Orleans Pelicans	Derik Queen Free throw	31	23
1:01	New Orleans Pelicans	Jeremiah Fears 3-pt field goal	31	26
0:33	New Orleans Pelicans	Derik Queen 2-pt field goal	31	28
0:18	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell 3-pt field goal	34	28

Q2 · 21 scoring plays

Scoring plays · Q2
Time left	Team	Play	Cleveland Cavaliers	New Orleans Pelicans
11:49	New Orleans Pelicans	Herbert Jones 3-pt field goal	34	31
11:29	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell 3-pt field goal	37	31
11:04	Cleveland Cavaliers	Evan Mobley 2-pt field goal	39	31
10:14	Cleveland Cavaliers	Evan Mobley 2-pt field goal	41	31
9:22	New Orleans Pelicans	Karlo Matkovic 2-pt field goal	41	33
9:17	Cleveland Cavaliers	Evan Mobley 2-pt field goal	43	33
8:59	New Orleans Pelicans	Herbert Jones 3-pt field goal	43	36
8:47	New Orleans Pelicans	Karlo Matkovic 2-pt field goal	43	38
7:09	New Orleans Pelicans	Jeremiah Fears 2-pt field goal	43	40
5:45	Cleveland Cavaliers	Dean Wade 2-pt field goal	45	40
5:10	New Orleans Pelicans	Trey Murphy III 2-pt field goal	45	42
4:54	Cleveland Cavaliers	Keon Ellis 2-pt field goal	47	42
4:54	Cleveland Cavaliers	Keon Ellis Free throw	48	42
4:32	New Orleans Pelicans	Herbert Jones 3-pt field goal	48	45
4:13	Cleveland Cavaliers	Sam Merrill 3-pt field goal	51	45
3:19	New Orleans Pelicans	Trey Murphy III Free throw	51	46
3:19	New Orleans Pelicans	Trey Murphy III Free throw	51	47
2:53	New Orleans Pelicans	Saddiq Bey 3-pt field goal	51	50
2:34	Cleveland Cavaliers	Evan Mobley 2-pt field goal	53	50
2:07	New Orleans Pelicans	Trey Murphy III 3-pt field goal	53	53
0:58	New Orleans Pelicans	Saddiq Bey 3-pt field goal	53	56

Q3 · 28 scoring plays

Scoring plays · Q3
Time left	Team	Play	Cleveland Cavaliers	New Orleans Pelicans
11:34	Cleveland Cavaliers	Evan Mobley 2-pt field goal	55	56
11:18	New Orleans Pelicans	Dejounte Murray 2-pt field goal	55	58
10:54	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell 2-pt field goal	57	58
10:01	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson 2-pt field goal	57	60
9:40	Cleveland Cavaliers	Sam Merrill 2-pt field goal	59	60
9:27	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson 2-pt field goal	59	62
9:06	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson 2-pt field goal	59	64
9:06	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson Free throw	59	65
8:42	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson 2-pt field goal	59	67
8:24	Cleveland Cavaliers	James Harden 2-pt field goal	61	67
8:09	New Orleans Pelicans	Saddiq Bey 3-pt field goal	61	70
7:47	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson 2-pt field goal	61	72
7:28	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell Free throw	62	72
7:07	New Orleans Pelicans	Trey Murphy III 3-pt field goal	62	75
6:22	Cleveland Cavaliers	Keon Ellis 2-pt field goal	64	75
6:07	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson 2-pt field goal	64	77
5:26	Cleveland Cavaliers	Dean Wade 3-pt field goal	67	77
4:54	Cleveland Cavaliers	James Harden 2-pt field goal	69	77
4:41	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson 2-pt field goal	69	79
3:59	New Orleans Pelicans	Saddiq Bey 3-pt field goal	69	82
3:49	Cleveland Cavaliers	James Harden 3-pt field goal	72	82
2:17	Cleveland Cavaliers	Thomas Bryant 2-pt field goal	74	82
1:55	New Orleans Pelicans	Derik Queen 2-pt field goal	74	84
1:12	Cleveland Cavaliers	Dennis Schröder Free throw	75	84
0:55	New Orleans Pelicans	Derik Queen Free throw	75	85
0:55	New Orleans Pelicans	Derik Queen Free throw	75	86
0:44	Cleveland Cavaliers	Thomas Bryant Free throw	76	86
0:11	New Orleans Pelicans	Jeremiah Fears 2-pt field goal	76	88

Q4 · 31 scoring plays

Scoring plays · Q4
Time left	Team	Play	Cleveland Cavaliers	New Orleans Pelicans
11:14	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson 2-pt field goal	76	90
11:02	Cleveland Cavaliers	Thomas Bryant 2-pt field goal	78	90
10:41	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson Free throw	78	91
10:41	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson Free throw	78	92
10:13	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson Free throw	78	93
9:25	Cleveland Cavaliers	James Harden 3-pt field goal	81	93
9:13	New Orleans Pelicans	Karlo Matkovic 2-pt field goal	81	95
9:05	Cleveland Cavaliers	James Harden 3-pt field goal	84	95
8:24	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell 3-pt field goal	87	95
8:02	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell Free throw	88	95
8:02	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell Free throw	89	95
7:25	Cleveland Cavaliers	James Harden 2-pt field goal	91	95
6:56	Cleveland Cavaliers	James Harden 3-pt field goal	94	95
6:41	New Orleans Pelicans	Saddiq Bey Free throw	94	96
6:41	New Orleans Pelicans	Saddiq Bey Free throw	94	97
6:29	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell 2-pt field goal	96	97
6:05	New Orleans Pelicans	Dejounte Murray 2-pt field goal	96	99
4:47	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell 2-pt field goal	98	99
4:10	Cleveland Cavaliers	Max Strus 2-pt field goal	100	99
3:33	Cleveland Cavaliers	James Harden 2-pt field goal	102	99
3:12	Cleveland Cavaliers	Sam Merrill Free throw	103	99
3:12	Cleveland Cavaliers	Sam Merrill Free throw	104	99
1:57	Cleveland Cavaliers	Evan Mobley 2-pt field goal	106	99
1:50	New Orleans Pelicans	Dejounte Murray Free throw	106	100
1:50	New Orleans Pelicans	Dejounte Murray Free throw	106	101
1:50	New Orleans Pelicans	Dejounte Murray Free throw	106	102
1:24	Cleveland Cavaliers	Sam Merrill 2-pt field goal	108	102
1:13	New Orleans Pelicans	Zion Williamson 2-pt field goal	108	104
0:27	New Orleans Pelicans	Dejounte Murray 2-pt field goal	108	106
0:05	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell 2-pt field goal	110	106
0:05	Cleveland Cavaliers	Donovan Mitchell Free throw	111	106

2025-26 season series

After this game: Cleveland Cavaliers 2-0. Final series: Cleveland Cavaliers 2-0.

Dec 23: New Orleans Pelicans 118 at Cleveland Cavaliers 141
Mar 21: Cleveland Cavaliers 111 at New Orleans Pelicans 106 (this game)

Highlights

New Orleans Pelicans 106-111 Cleveland Cavaliers — Full Highlights (YouTube)

Game statistics · retrieved Oct 9, 2026 02:29.

Tipoff and venue can change. Game times: Eastern Time.

Tipoff in UTC

Mar 21, 2026 · 23:00 UTC

Browse the full schedule

Today's NBA games

Houston Rockets at Dallas Mavericks

Memphis Grizzlies at Chicago Bulls

Sacramento Kings at Los Angeles Lakers

Atlanta Hawks at San Antonio Spurs

New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat

Philadelphia 76ers at Brooklyn Nets

Washington Wizards at New York Knicks

Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers at New Orleans Pelicans

Final