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Cavaliers score, recap vs Kings as Mitchell, Mobley lead Cleveland
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- Cavaliers score, recap vs Kings as Mitchell, Mobley lead Cleveland
CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers are trying to put together an extended winning streak in the midst of a season that could be described as disjointed to this point. They had a golden opportunity to win their third game within the last four and didn't let it pass, as they defeated the Sacramento Kings , 123-118, Jan. 23 at Rocket Arena.
The Cavs (26-20) won a low-scoring affair in Charlotte heading into this matchup with the Kings (12-34), who are in the running for the NBA Draft lottery.
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Despite a so-so first half to the season, the Cavs — who were again without Darius Garland — still found themselves only 1.5 games out of the No. 3 seed in the East entering Jan. 23.
Here's how the game unfolded.
Jan 23, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against against the Sacramento Kings during the second half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Cavaliers beat the Kings
The Cavs have beaten the Kings, 123-118, to record their third win over their last four games.
Donovan Mitchell finished with a game-high 33 points, five rebounds and eight assists. Evan Mobley had 29 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and four blocks in arguably his best game of the season. Jaylon Tyson finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
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Those three did just about everything for the Cavs, though Tyson did commit two bad turnovers in the final two minutes that could have made this a much closer finish.
Jarrett Allen also had 15 points and nine rebounds.
Jaylon Tyson hits layup, Cavs lead Kings 6 in final minute
Somehow, Jaylon Tyson made another really bad pass, but he somehow again didn't pay for it. Tyson again gave it away, but the Kings again missed the shot at the other end. That eventually led to a Tyson floater, giving the Cavs a 122-116 lead with 25.6 seconds left.
Jan 23, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jaylon Tyson (20) drives to the basket against Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) during the second half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Donovan Mitchell hits 3, Domantis Sabonis misses layup
Donovan Mitchell drained a 3, and Jaylon Tyson committed a bad error with an errant pass, but one that he didn't have to pay for as Damontis Sabonis missed a layup.
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The Cavs lead 120-116 with 1:15 left.
Cavs, Kings in 1-point game late in fourth quarter
Donovan Mitchell has taken a lot of contact and gotten nothing for it, and the Cavs' lead over the Kings is down to one point, 113-112, with 4:39 left.
Mitchell has twice recently driven the lane and fell to the floor without receiving a whistle, and a missed layup has led to a Kings basket. Mitchell is 0-for-3 in the fourth quarter thus far, and the Kings have chipped away in the meantime.
Jan 23, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder (17) during the second half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Kings cut into Cavaliers' lead
Instead of the Cavs putting away a struggling team, the Kings have instead started the fourth quarter on a 9-4 run and cut Cleveland's advantage to 106-102 with 8:49 left.
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Donovan Mitchell was rejected on a layup attempt at the rim, which led to a quick Malik Monk 3 and a Cavs timeout.
Cavs lead Kings entering fourth quarter
The Cavaliers have again created some separation and will take a 102-93 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Cavs have scored at least 33 points in all three quarters tonight (35/33/34) while shooting 49 percent from the floor and 34 percent from 3-point range.
Evan Mobley (12-for-20) and Donovan Mitchell (9-for-19) both have a game-high 27 points. Those two were enough to overpower the Kings in the third quarter, and the Cavs have an opportunity to put away Sacramento early in the fourth.
Jan 23, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan (10) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade (32) during the first quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Cavs build 5-point lead over Kings in third quarter
Jaylon Tyson hit a basket in the paint and then quickly drilled a 3, and the Cavs have opened up an 87-82 lead with 5:33 left in the third quarter.
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Tyson is up to 15 points tonight, another quality performance as he builds his case to be a major factor in Kenny Atkinson's playoff rotation.
Jan 23, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan (10) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. (22) and center Jarrett Allen (31) during the first half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Cavs trail Kings at halftime
Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said before the game that if he could fix one thing with Cleveland's defense, it'd be their 3-point defense. That fault has again been a major factor, the Kings will take a 71-68 lead into halftime.
Sacramento has hit nine of their 15 attempts (60 percent) from behind the 3-point line, including a 3-for-3 line from Dennis Schroder , who has a team-high 17 points.
The Cavs, meanwhile, are shooting 33 percent from 3-point range. Evan Mobley has missed all three of his 3s, but he has a game-high 19 points and five rebounds. Donovan Mitchell has 18 points, four rebounds and three assists at the half.
Jan 23, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) drives to the basket between Cleveland Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. (22) and guard Jaylon Tyson (20) during the first half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Who's winning the Cavs-Kings game? Score updates
The Kings are holding a 50-49 lead with 6:53 left in the second quarter.
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Evan Mobley is up to 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting to go with four rebounds and two assists. Donovan Mitchell has 15 points (4-for-10) along with four rebounds and three assists. Neither will be on the floor following this timeout, though.
The Cavs are going with a lineup of Larry Nance Jr. , Jarrett Allen, Dean Wade , Craig Porter Jr. and Jaylon Tyson. It's rare to see neither Mitchell nor Mobley in a lineup for long.
Jan 23, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan (10) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'andre Hunter (12) during the first half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Cavs, Kings tied after first quarter
The benching worked.
Following a 16-2 Cavaliers start, when the Kings brought in five players off the bench at the same time, Sacramento went on to out-score Cleveland 33-19 to finish the first quarter. The Cavs and Kings are tied, 35-35, heading to the second quarter.
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Cleveland's offense became stagnant yet again, and the Kings began to heat up, and those two factors quickly erased a 14-point Cavs lead.
The Cavs went 14-for-25 from the floor, but they hit only two of their eight 3-point attempts. Evan Mobley had a dynamic quarter, scoring 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the floor.
Jan 23, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder (17) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Nae'qwan Tomlin (35) during the first half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Cavaliers crushing Kings in first quarter
This game isn't even four minutes in, and the Kings have already taken two timeouts. The Cavs now lead 16-2 with 8:32 left in the quarter. Evan Mobley is up to eight points. The Cavs have had virtually no opposition thus far.
There's pretty clearly some frustration. Only 2:38 into the game, the Kings are subbing out their entire starting lineup.
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Cavs, Kings score: Cleveland opens on 9-0 run
The Cavs have opened tonight's game with a 9-0 run within the first two minutes of the game.
Donovan Mitchell has hit two of his first three attempts and has five points. Evan Mobley is 2-for-2 from the floor for four points. The Kings, meanwhile, are (obviously) 0-fer from the floor and called a quick timeout.
Below is some pregame information.
Cavs starting lineup vs Kings
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F Evan Mobley
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G Jaylon Tyson
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C Jarrett Allen
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F Dean Wade
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G Donovan Mitchell
Cavs vs. Kings injury report
The Cavaliers will be without a trio of guards, as All-Star Darius Garland (toe sprain), Sam Merrill (ankle sprain) and Max Strus (foot surgery) have all been ruled out.
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The Kings will be without forward Keegan Murray (ankle sprain).
Cavaliers unveil city edition uniforms
The Cavs unveiled their new City Edition uniforms Nov. 11.
How can I watch/stream/listen to the Cavs vs Kings game?
The Jan. 23 Cavs-Kings game can be watched on the FanDuel Sports Network — Ohio. It can heard on the radio on 100.7 WMMS, 1100 WTAM and S: LA MEGA 1300.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavs score today vs Sacramento Kings live updates, recap
