Darius Garland’s 25 points and Ty Jerome’s 24 points helped carry the Cleveland Cavaliers as they maintained their unbeaten record by beating the visiting Charlotte Hornets 128-114 on Sunday night.
Four Cleveland players had more than 20 points as the Cavaliers extended their franchise-best winning streak to 15 games. They are the fourth team in NBA history to begin a season 15-0. Only the Golden State Warriors (24-0 in 2015-16) have enjoyed a better start.
Evan Mobley put up 23 points and 11 rebounds and Jarrett Allen added 21 points and 15 rebounds to boost an offense that clicked on 57.1 percent shooting from the field. Georges Niang contributed 13 points off the bench.
The Cavaliers did all this without guard Donovan Mitchell (24.6 points per game), who took a rest day and was replaced by Jerome in the starting lineup. Garland provided 12 assists.
LaMelo Ball had another big point total with 31 to go with 12 assists, while Miles Bridges added 19 points for the Hornets, who’ve lost their last five road games after winning the season opener at Houston. Charlotte’s Josh Green, Brandon Miller and Grant Williams all scored 15 points.
The Hornets were lifted by making 20 shots from 3-point range, led by Ball’s five. But the Cavaliers went 27-for-28 on free throws, while Charlotte was 10-for-12 at the foul line.
Charlotte, which had a one-point victory against the Milwaukee Bucks a day earlier, took 52 of its 103 shots from the field from beyond the arc.
Mobley had been listed as questionable for the game because of illness, but he logged 34 minutes.
Charlotte used a 40-point third quarter to close within 102-99, but the Hornets never got closer in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland held a 72-59 halftime lead, shooting 66.7 percent (26-for-39) from the field. Because of that high percentage and 12-for-12 free-throw shooting, the Cavaliers secured only one offensive rebound in the half.
The Cavaliers had a double-digit lead at 18-7 about 4:10 into the game on Mobley’s 3-pointer. Cleveland made 10 of its first 12 shots from the field.
–Field Level Media
