Cavs Back in Form with 132-129 Win

*** It’s been a while since the Cavaliers looked like their old selves in a feel-good win. But on Monday night, the Wine and Gold got their mojo back – opening up a second-half lead and not looking back, snapping their three-game skid with the 139-132 victory over the scrappy Hornets at Rocket Arena.  

After a string of inconsistent performances, Cleveland’s offense was firing on all cylinders in Monday’s win. The Cavaliers topped the 30-point mark in all four quarters, featured three players with at least 27 points and handed out a season-high 35 assists. 

Overall, the Wine and Gold shot 55 percent from the floor and 55 percent from deep – drilling a season-best 24 triples in the process. Cleveland also went 19-of-19 from the stripe and committed just 13 turnovers in the win. 

The Cavaliers also didn’t need a comeback of any kind on Monday. They’d trailed by double-figures at one point in each of their previous seven games before the victory, but Charlotte never led by more than six points in the rematch from last Sunday’s loss. 

Donovan Mitchell reached the 30-point plateau for the 16^th time this season – leading all scorers with 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including 6-of-11 from long-range, to go with four boards and five assists. Through 27 games, Mitchell leads the NBA with 111 made three-pointers. 

“It was just nice to get  back into the win column,” said Cleveland’s six-time All-Star. “Win or lose tonight, I would have been happy, just because of the process – we were doing a lot of things as well. They shot 50 percent from three on some tough shots. We have to give them credit. But we were flying around, continuously trying to find ways to be better defensively. Even when they were making shots, we didn’t let it affect our spirit.”

After going off for a season-high 35 points in Friday’s loss to Chicago, Darius Garland stayed hot – notching his second double-double of the season with 27 points and a game-high 10 assists, adding five boards and a pair of steals. On the night, Garland was 9-for-15 from the floor, including 5-of-6 from long-range. After struggling to find his stroke immediately after his return, Garland is shooting 52 percent from the floor and 61 percent from deep over his last two outings. 

Garland wasn’t the only Cavalier who dipped himself in healing waters on Monday. DeAndre Hunter, who was shooting just 29 percent from the floor over his previous five games, was electric against Charlotte – finishing with 27 points in 26 minutes off the bench, going 9-for-13 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. 

Hunter almost didn’t get to finish his Monday night masterpiece after taking a hard elbow from Charlotte’s Moussa Diabite late in the third quarter. Hunter’s nose was bloodied and had to leave the floor and head back to the locker room. Fortunately, Hunter returned to sink his free throws and remained in the game from there. 

Dean Wade was sharp on Monday, chipping in with 14 points and seven boards on 4-of-7 shooting from deep. Jarrett Allen rounded out the Cavs starters in double-figures, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds and Cleveland’s only two blocks of the night. 

Thomas Bryant came off the bench to notch double-figure scoring for the third time in his last four outings – adding 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting – and Lonzo Ball grabbed seven boards to lead all reserves while improving to 3-2 all-time as a pro against his brother, LaMelo. 

*** With the win, the Cavaliers have now won five of their last six and nine of their last 13 meetings against Charlotte. Cleveland also improved to 8-1 this season when handing out at least 30 assists. 

*** Following Monday night’s victory over the Hornets, the Wine and Gold play just two more home games in the calendar year, including a Tuesday night matchup with the Pelicans. From there, it’s an extremely challenging road trip – traveling to face the Knicks on Christmas Day followed by a Saturday night showdown with the Rockets before wrapping up the junket next Monday against Wemby and the Spurs in San Antonio. Cleveland closes out the month of December and 2025 on New Year’s Eve when the Suns come to town.