CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter over four minutes, to rally the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 108-100 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.
Evan Mobley had 22 points and 13 rebounds for Cleveland, which used a 17-2 run to seize a 103-92 lead with 3:36 remaining. The Cavaliers outscored Memphis 32-16 in the fourth after trailing by double digits for much of the middle periods.
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Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter, left, goes up to shoot over Memphis Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward (23) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) shoots as Memphis Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama (7) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) looks to shoot as Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (8) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin, bottom, is fouled by Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey, top, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 26 points and tied his career high with 12 free throws made, but shot just 6 of 23 from the field for the Grizzlies. Zach Edey had 13 points and seven rebounds in his season debut following left ankle surgery on June 7.
Memphis point guard Ja Morant scored seven points in six minutes before exiting with right calf soreness. He missed the previous game Wednesday in Boston with a sore right ankle.
Jarrett Allen chipped in 16 points and Sam Merrill had 13 points for Cleveland, which is 1-1 on a six-game homestand. Santi Aldama had 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Grizzlies.
Jackson scored 17 points and made 10 of 11 free throws in the first half as Memphis built an 11-point lead, carrying a 61-54 advantage into the break. Aldama had 10 points and eight rebounds, while Mobley scored 11 to pace Cleveland.
Point guard Darius Garland (left great toe) and swingman Jaylon Tyson (concussion) both missed their second straight games for the Cavaliers after being hurt Nov. 10 at Miami.
Garland, a two-time All-Star, has only appeared in three contests following offseason surgery on the same toe. Team officials have not established a timetable for his return.
Grizzlies: Visit San Antonio on Tuesday.
Cavaliers: Host Milwaukee on Monday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter, left, goes up to shoot over Memphis Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward (23) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) shoots as Memphis Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama (7) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) looks to shoot as Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (8) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin, bottom, is fouled by Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey, top, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday presented the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees with their medals during a ceremony in the Oval Office, hailing the slate of artists he was deeply involved in choosing as “perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class” ever assembled.
This year's recipients are actor Sylvester Stallone, singers Gloria Gaynor and George Strait, the rock band Kiss and actor-singer Michael Crawford.
Trump said they are a group of “incredible people” who represent the “very best in American arts and culture” and that, “I know most of them and I've been a fan of all of them.”
“This is a group of icons whose work and accomplishments have inspired, uplifted and unified millions and millions of Americans,” said a tuxedo-clad Trump. "This is perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class of Kennedy Center Honorees ever assembled.”
Trump ignored the Kennedy Center and its premier awards program during his first term as president. But the Republican has instituted a series of changes since returning to office in January, most notably ousting its board of trustees and replacing them with GOP supporters who voted him in as chairman of the board.
Trump also has criticized the center's programming and its physical appearance, and has vowed to overhaul both.
The president placed around each honoree's neck a new medal that was designed, created and donated by jeweler Tiffany & Co., according to the Kennedy Center and Trump.
It's a gold disc etched on one side with the Kennedy Center's image and rainbow colors. The honoree's name appears on the reverse side with the date of the ceremony. The medallion hangs from a navy blue ribbon and replaces a large rainbow ribbon decorated with three gold plates that rested on the honoree's shoulders and chest and had been used since the first honors program in 1978.
Strait, wearing a cowboy hat, was first to receive his medal. When the country singer started to take off the hat, Trump said, “If you want to leave it on, you can. I think we can get it through.” But Strait took it off.
The president said Crawford was a “great star of Broadway” for his lead role in the long-running “Phantom of the Opera.” Of Gaynor, he said, “We have the disco queen, and she was indeed, and nobody did it like Gloria Gaynor.”
Trump was effusive about his friend Stallone, calling him a “wonderful” and “spectacular” person and “one of the true, great movie stars” and "one of the great legends."
Kiss is an “incredible rock band," he said.
Songs by honorees Gaynor and Kiss played in the Rose Garden just outside the Oval Office as members of the White House press corps waited nearby for Trump to begin the ceremony.
The president president said in August that he was “about 98% involved” in choosing the 2025 honorees when he personally announced them at the Kennedy Center, the first slate chosen under his leadership. The honorees traditionally had been announced by press release.
It was unclear how they were chosen. Before Trump, it fell to a bipartisan selection committee.
“These are among the greatest artists, actors and performers of their generation. The greatest that we’ve seen,” Trump said. “We can hardly imagine the country music phenomena without its king of country, or American disco without its first lady, or Broadway without its phantom — and that was a phantom, let me tell you — or rock and roll without its hottest band in the world, and that’s what they are, or Hollywood without one of its greatest visionaries."
“Each of you has made an indelible mark on American life and together you have defined entire genres and set new standards for the performing arts,” Trump said.
Trump also attended an annual State Department dinner for the honorees on Saturday. In years past, the honorees received their medallions there but Trump moved the ceremony to the White House.
Meanwhile, the glitzy Kennedy Center Honors program and its series of tribute speeches and performances for each recipient is set to be taped on Sunday at the performing arts center for broadcast later in December on CBS and Paramount+. Trump is to attend the program for the first time as president, accompanied by his wife, first lady Melania Trump.
The president said in August that he had agreed to host the show, and he seemed to confirm on Saturday that he would do so, predicting that the broadcast would garner its highest ratings ever as a result. Presidents traditionally attend the program and sit with the honorees in the audience. None has ever served as host.
He said he looked forward to Sunday's celebration.
“It’s going to be something that I believe, and I’m going to make a prediction: this will be the highest-rated show that they’ve ever done and they’ve gotten some pretty good ratings, but there’s nothing like what’s going to happen tomorrow night,” Trump said.
The president also swiped at late-night TV show host Jimmy Kimmel, whose program was briefly suspended earlier this year by ABC following criticism of his comments related to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September.
Kimmel and Trump are sharp critics of each other, with the president regularly deriding Kimmel's talent as a host. Kimmel has hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Academy Award multiple times.
Trump said he should be able to outdo Kimmel.
“I've watched some of the people that host. Jimmy Kimmel was horrible,” Trump said. “If I can't beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don't think I should be president.”
President Donald Trump speaks at a Kennedy Center Honors reception for recipients Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, Kiss, Gloria Gaynor and Michael Crawford at the State Department, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, left, presents Sylvester Stallone with his Kennedy Center Honors medal in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, center, speaks as he presents Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, KISS, Gloria Gaynor and Michael Crawford with their Kennedy Center Honors medals in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, center, speaks as he presents Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, KISS, Gloria Gaynor and Michael Crawford with their Kennedy Center Honors medals in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, left, presents Michael Crawford with his Kennedy Center Honors medal in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, left, speaks as he presents Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, KISS, Gloria Gaynor and Michael Crawford with their Kennedy Center Honors medals in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, left, presents George Strait with his Kennedy Center Honors medal in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
FILE - The Hall of Nations at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, Nov. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, file)
Kiss band member Gene Simmons speaks to members of the media at the White House, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
President Donald Trump speaks before a concert by Andrea Bocelli in the East Room of the White House walking towards the East Room, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
