Defense leads the way in Cavaliers’ defeat of Hornets

Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers were solid on defense on the way to beating the host Charlotte Hornets 94-87 on Wednesday night.

Evan Mobley provided 14 points and 14 rebounds, Jaylon Tyson posted 14 points and Jarrett Allen had 13 points, as the Cavaliers won for the third time in their last four outings. Cleveland pulled off the triumph despite shooting 8-for-40 on 3-pointers (20%) and committing 21 turnovers.

Brandon Miller's 24 points led the Hornets and teammate Kon Knueppel notched 21 points but he was 2-for-10 from 3-point range. Collin Sexton and Miles Bridges both had 11 points.

Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball scored two points on 1-for-15 shooting, missing all 10 of his threes. He played 22 minutes off the bench, delivering a game-high seven assists.

Charlotte, which had its lowest point total in a home game this season, ended up shooting 33.7% from the field and made 8 of 47 3-pointers (17%).

Cleveland finished with a 60-47 rebounding advantage. Knueppel's 11 rebounds, one shy of his career high, were tops for Charlotte.

It wasn't easy for the Cavaliers to close out the victory. Miller notched five straight points to pull the Hornets within 91-85 with less than a minute remaining.

Charlotte regained possession with 27.1 seconds to play, and Knueppel missed a 3 before scoring on a drive. Tyson made 1 of 2 free throws at the other end, but the Hornets failed to convert and Allen sealed it with a pair of foul shots.

Cleveland produced a 16-2 run late in the second quarter and held a 56-32 halftime lead, with Mobley already notching a double-double.

The Hornets closed within 76-64 by the end of the third quarter and then scored the first five points of the fourth. The Cavaliers scored 10 of the next 14 points, capped by back-to-back baskets by Tyson.

Charlotte suddenly struggled on offense, managing four points in a stretch of nearly six minutes to allow the deficit to grow back to 15 points.