Donovan Mitchell’s 32 points and Jarrett Allen’s 26 points carried the Cleveland Cavaliers as they extended their season-best winning streak to seven games by beating the host Charlotte Hornets 118-113 on Friday.
James Harden had a strong second half and finished with 18 points and eight assists while Sam Merrill provided 10 points for the Cavaliers. Allen grabbed 14 rebounds and shot 11-for-15 from the floor.
The Cavaliers made enough plays down the stretch and benefitted from 26-for-28 free-throw shooting to win for the 12th time in 13 games. Mitchell went 12 of 13 from the foul line.
Kon Knueppel made seven 3-point shots on the way to 33 points for the Hornets, who took their third loss in four games following a nine-game winning streak. LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller both finished with 18 points, Ryan Kalkbrenner had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Josh Green added 11 points.
Charlotte trailed 114-108 with less than 40 seconds to play, but Miller’s 3-pointer trimmed the spread to 116-113 with 16.7 seconds remaining before Mitchell sank two free throws.
The Cavaliers ended up 10-for-21 (47.6%) on 3-point attempts.
The Hornets, who tried to rely on perimeter shooting by going 20-for-56 (35.7%) from beyond the arc, lost for the second night in a row.
Charlotte’s comeback from an early deficit resulted in a 64-62 lead early in the third quarter before the Cavaliers regained momentum.
Cleveland was up 30-20 after one quarter and led by 15 in the second.
Seven of Charlotte’s first 10 field goals were 3-pointers, but the Hornets still faced a double-digit deficit because the Cavaliers held a 13-4 edge in scoring from the free-throw line.
The Hornets made a push late in the first half, and they were within 59-53 at the break despite committing 10 turnovers. Cleveland shot 52.6% from the field in the opening half and ended the night at 53.2%.
–Field Level Media
