Cavs suffer their latest inexplicable loss, falling to Charlotte Hornets in overtime, 119-111
CLEVELAND, Ohio — It was the same story for the Cavs.
Only with a different ending.
Cleveland lost to the Charlotte Hornets, 119-111, in overtime on Sunday afternoon at Rocket Arena.
“It’s upsetting,” said star guard Donovan Mitchell. “It’s stuff that we can control. I’m not going to use the word concern.”
Just two nights ago, the Cavs needed a miraculous fourth-quarter comeback to avoid an embarrassing loss to the then-three-win Washington Wizards.
Playing against another Eastern Conference bottom-feeder Sunday, Cleveland found itself in a similar position.
The Cavs trailed by 10 at the half. They were behind by a game-high 17 at one point in the third quarter. Down nine going into the fourth.
With Charlotte missing its first four shots of the final period, the Cavs mounted a furious rally.
As the deficit shrank, fans started to stir.
It was a two-possession game with 7:27 remaining. About a minute later, the Cavs took their second lead of the second half.
It didn’t last long.
The Hornets went back in front at the 5:47 mark — and remained in control until there were 21 seconds left. Following Charlotte’s defensive rebound, the Cavs forced a steal, collected the loose ball and reclaimed the lead on Jaylon Tyson’s floater.
It seemed like they were going to narrowly avoid catastrophe for the second time in two days.
Not this time.
After Cleveland increased its lead to three on a pair of clutch Tyson free throws, Charlotte tied the game with 4.7 seconds left, as Hornets forward Brandon Miller sent Darius Garland stumbling to the floor and then buried a ruthless wide-open triple.
Despite the in-arena groans and sideline shock, the Cavs tried to regroup, only Mitchell used up all his heroics on Friday, missing a potential game-winning jumper and sending the contest into overtime.
The Hornets outscored Cleveland 8-0 in the extra period. The Cavs missed all 10 of their shots.
“I didn’t feel like we created advantages,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said when asked about the OT struggles. “I felt like they got us in neutral a lot. We tried to spread them out, obviously going small, but we couldn’t create that advantage. It’s kind of our formula, so credit to them on defense.”
Garland finished with a team-high 26 points, including 18 in the second half while playing through lingering pain in his surgically repaired toe.
“He broke through,” Atkinson said of Garland. “He gets these stingers when he’s got a hard change of direction, hard plant. I thought he played through it tonight. I feel like he’s starting to find it a little bit. Starting to get by, starting to get to the rim, starting to get the paint a little more. That’s a positive.”
Mitchell added 17 points on an inefficient 6-of-24 shooting.
“I had one of those nights on a night when I’m not allowed to,” Mitchell explained. “If I play better, we win that game. Don’t want to put that on anything else. Put this one on me. Competed and fought. But played poorly on both ends of the floor. If I’m just half of myself tonight we win.”
Tyson chipped in with 16 off the bench. Dean Wade, put into the starting lineup for injured Evan Mobley (calf strain), added 14 points. Wade even finished the game at center in a small-ball look.
Sunday also marked the return of Jarrett Allen, playing for the first time since Nov. 28 because of a strained right finger.
Not even Allen’s return could plug Cleveland’s leaky defense.
Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel tallied a game-high 29 points. Miller added 25 while Miles Bridges had 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Charlotte entered the afternoon as a 12-point underdog and did not have LaMelo Ball (ankle) or Collin Sexton (quad strain). The Hornets shot 43.9% from the field and canned 17 3-pointers. They had 28 assists on 43 made field goals. They led for nearly 47 minutes, including all but 34 seconds of the second half.
Shortly before tipoff, Atkinson pushed back on the negativity surrounding his underperforming team that has now been booed in three of the last four home games.
Atkinson said, vehemently, that the sky was not falling.
Well, it came crashing down on them Sunday.
“No one is feeling sorry for us. I wouldn’t feel sorry for us,” Mitchell said. “I know it’s cloudy, it’s dark and we’re getting booed. We deserve it. Our play hasn’t been stellar.
“I was a fan once. I would boo us too. We’re not playing well. The city deserves better than what we have been giving. As long as we continue to stay together in this locker room, we will be all right.”
Up next
The Cavs will travel to Chicago for a matchup against the Bulls on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.
