Cavs Drop to Hornets in Overtime

On Sunday afternoon, the Cavaliers mounted yet another dramatic fourth-quarter rally. The problem came once they’d completed it – sending the game to overtime but running out of gas from there, failing to score in the extra-session and dropping the 119-111 decision to the Hornets at Rocket Arena. 

The Cavalier found themselves down 17 midway through the third quarter before turning it on, roaring back to take a brief lead midway through the fourth. After Charlotte re-took the lead, Jaylon Tyson’s bucket with 21 seconds to play put Cleveland back up one, and his two free throws eight seconds later gave the Wine & Gold a three-point edge with 13 seconds to play. 

But Brandon Miller’s three-pointer with 4.7 to play in regulation tied the score and sent the game into overtime. From there, the Cavs went as cold as the weather outside the arena – missing all 10 field goal attempts, including all four from long-range, as the Hornets pulled away for the win. 

Darius Garland had his best game of the season, leading Cleveland with 26 points on 8-of-19 shooting, including 3-of-7 from deep and 7-of-8 from the stripe, dishing out a game-high nine assists to go with a steal and blocked shot. 

“I think the entire locker room is positive,” said Garland after the loss. “We just have to find it. It’s on the 15 (guys) in this locker room, what we want to do and what we really want to achieve. Everybody goes through adversity. We went through it last year in the playoffs. Let’s go through it now and figure it out so we can take those steps in the right direction and be where we want to be at later on this season.” 

Coming off his 48-point masterpiece on Friday night in D.C., Donovan Mitchell followed up with 17 points, going 6-for-24 from the floor, but just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc, adding seven assists and a pair of steals. 

Dean Wade, getting the start in place of Evan Mobley – out with a left calf strain – and chipped in with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-6 from long-range, leading Cleveland’s starters with eight boards in the loss. 

After missing nine of the previous 10 games with separate finger injuries, Jarrett Allen returned to the lineup on Sunday – finishing with nine points and three boards in 23 minutes of work. 

Overall, the Cavs shot just 40 percent from the floor, including 32 percent from deep, and were beaten on the boards, 53-46. 

Rookie Kon Knueppel led all scorers on Sunday, finishing with 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Three Charlotte starters topped the 20-point mark on Sunday, with two – Miles Bridges and Brandon Miller – notching double-doubles in the win. 

*** Jaylon Tyson led Cleveland with 13 rebounds on Sunday – coming off the bench to add 16 points on 6-for-13 shooting for his third double-double of the season, second in his last three outings. 

Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Thomas Bryant were a combined 6-for-7 from the floor – with Bryant tallying 10 points and six rebounds in 14 minutes of work. Lonzo Ball finished with eight points, five boards, four assists, a game-high five steals and a blocked shot in the loss. 

*** After falling to the Hornets on Sunday afternoon, the Cavaliers travel to the Windy City on Wednesday night for the first of two straight against the Bulls, welcoming Chicago to Rocket Arena on Friday night. The Wine and Gold welcome the Hornets back to town on Monday night and face the Pelicans in Cleveland the next night in the final game before a three-game trip – beginning on Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden.