Cavaliers drop overtime heartbreaker to short-handed Hornets in Cleveland
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The Cleveland Cavaliers surrendered a 17-point deficit, rallied to force overtime and then went scoreless in the extra period, losing 119-111 to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Cleveland (15-12) played without injured forward Evan Mobley (calf) and reserves Max Strus (foot), Larry Nance Jr. (calf) and Sam Merrill (hand). Charlotte (8-18) also arrived shorthanded, missing LaMelo Ball and former Cavalier Collin Sexton, but still secured just its second road victory in nine games.
How the game unfolded
The Hornets opened a 17-point cushion in the first half before the Cavaliers clawed back to tie the score at 109-109 on a Donovan Mitchell layup with 35 seconds left in regulation. Both teams came up empty on their final possessions, sending the contest to overtime.
In the five-minute extra session, Cleveland missed all 10 of its field-goal attempts while Charlotte went 3-for-6 and 6-for-6 at the line to seal the upset.
Top performers
Rookie guard Kon Knueppel paced the Hornets with a career-best 29 points. No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller contributed 25, and Miles Bridges finished with 20.
Darius Garland led Cleveland with 26 points on 8-for-19 shooting, including 3-of-7 from three-point range. Mitchell followed with 16 points but hit just 6-of-24 attempts and was 1-for-11 from deep. De’Andre Hunter added four points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Inside the numbers
- The Cavaliers finished the night 10-for-43 (23.3%) from behind the arc.
- Charlotte outscored Cleveland 10-2 in overtime.
- Jarrett Allen returned from a finger injury, logging nine points and three rebounds in 23 minutes.
- Dean Wade, starting for Mobley, supplied 14 points and eight rebounds; rookie Jaylon Tyson added 16 off the bench.
The Cavaliers have dropped two of their last three, including a loss to a depleted Golden State squad and a narrow win over Washington’s 3-20 club. Cleveland continues a three-game homestand Wednesday against the Utah Jazz.
Source: Hoops Wire
