The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled out an impressive 118-113 victory over a surging Charlotte Hornets team on the second night of a back-to-back. It wasnt pretty for the entire 48 minutes. Cleveland struggled to defend the three-point line and clear defensive possessions, but they executed well enough offensively to get the win. That’s all that matters in a game like this.
The Cavaliers controlled most of the first half. They won the first quarter by 10, pushed their lead to 14, and then settled for a six-point advantage going into the break.
Charlotte roared back in the second half. They retook the lead in the third quarter due to shooting 8-15 from beyond the arc in that frame. They pushed their advantage to four before the Cavs reasserted control.
Support us and Let ‘Em Know with Homage!
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can buy the Mark Price shirt HERE. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE.
Cleveland wasn’t able to create much separation in the fourth, but they also never let Charlotte off the mat. The offense continued to generate clean looks in the half-court thanks to their dynamic backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. Combine that with an energized Jarrett Allen, and you have the makings of an elite offense.
Meanwhile, the Hornets weren’t able to get their outside shots to carry them in the fourth as they did in the third quarter. They went 2-15 from three, and their offense simply ran out of gas. This led to the Cavs winning the final frame 28-24.
Allen continued his string of impressive play. He set the tone early by scoring 11 of his 26 points in the opening quarter. Even though he wasn’t scoring as much over the final three quarters, his activity never wavered, which led to him finishing with 14 rebounds and a block.
Mitchell and Harden once again worked well together in crunch time. Harden had the reins as the play initiator, while Mitchell was able to find opportunities to score when the ball came his way. This led to Mitchell scoring 13 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter. Harden finished the evening with 18 points on 6-14 shooting to go along with eight assists.
This wasn’t a perfect game by any stretch. The Cavs once again struggled to clear defensive possessions. This led to the Hornets compiling 37 second-chance points and gathering 44.6% of their missed shots (97th percentile). Many of these were due to the Cavs not being able to corral long rebounds off missed triples. This is an area where Evan Mobley’s absence (injury management) was sorely missed.
Kon Knueppel’s three-point shooting kept the Hornets in the game. He went 7-15 from beyond the arc en route to a game-high 33 points. Lamelo Ball and Brandon Miller both contributed 18 points apiece.
Even though there were areas to improve, this was a solid win. The Hornets are better than their record indicates. They came into this one winning eight of their last 10.
The Cavs have won their seventh in a row and 12 of their last 13. They were playing well before the trades, but have taken that to a new level since.
Cleveland will look to keep their strong play going. They head to Oklahoma City to take on a shorthanded Thunder team on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is at 1 PM.