Cleveland led 59–53 at the break. James Harden had 17 points and three made threes. He needed four points and one more three, with a single make helping both legs. Evan Mobley needed four points after scoring seven on five shots.

Jarrett Allen needed three more rebounds. He had six in roughly 13 first-half minutes after missing the previous meeting with a right knee bruise. Karl-Anthony Towns had seven boards and needed five more. Towns collected seven second-half rebounds in the Nov. 7 meeting, when Allen was out.

Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell each needed 11 points. Brunson scored exactly 11 after halftime against Cleveland on Nov. 7 and averaged 27.7 points in his Nov. 2–8 Player of the Week run. StatIQ’s game preview listed Brunson at 25.8 points per game and Mitchell at 22.1. Mitchell missed his first three attempts from deep in this game after going 5-for-13 in the prior meeting. His second-half shot volume was the number to watch.

Minutes mattered for Josh Hart and Miles McBride. Hart returned from illness and picked up three first-half fouls. McBride made one three on three attempts in 16 minutes in the prior meeting, so the 4+ line depended heavily on his attempts after the break.