The Cleveland Cavaliers have been tempting fate in their last several outings. They’ve played down to their competition this past week but were able to pull out wins against worse opponents like the Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, and Miami Heat. That happened again on Friday as they pulled out a 118-117 win over the lowly Charlotte Hornets.
This was an ugly, choppy game. The Cavs didn’t start out strong, but their ability to consistently get to the line helped buoy their disjointed offense.
The Cavs started to create separation in the second quarter. They closed the half strong and went into the break with an 11-point lead. Cleveland was set to pull away in the second half.
A poor start to the third kept that from happening. They started out 1-7 from the floor and it took them six minutes to register their second field goal of the half. That let the Hornets get back into the game.
Their double-digit lead evaporated early in the fourth quarter. Charlotte pushed the advantage to as much as nine midway through the fourth before the Cavs stormed back.
Evan Mobley changed the momentum by hitting a late shot clock side-step three to tie the game with just over two minutes left.
Darius Garland chipped in from there. He drew fouls on the following two possessions to allow the Cavs to keep pace with Charlotte.
De’Andre Hunter saved the game. He rebounded a Donovan Mitchell missed three with 43 seconds left and made the putback layup to give Cleveland a two-point lead. On the other head, he forced a turnover on a Miles Bridges drive to the hoop.
Once again, Hunter made the difference down the stretch.
Mitchell led the team in scoring with 24 points on 6-19 shooting from the field with one assist. Garland added in 20 points on 4-10 shooting with two helpers. Mobley provided 19 points on 6-13 shooting with 10 boards and four helpers.
The Cavs needed Hunter’s versatility and scoring off the bench. He supplied that as he finished with 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
The Hornets were led by Bridges who had a game-high 46 points on 15-32 shooting with eight boards.
This was a game the Cavs didn’t deserve to win. They didn’t come out with the focus a championship-caliber team should’ve and nearly paid for it.
That said, a win is a win. That’s now 13-straight for Cleveland.
We’ll see if the focus is better on Sunday when they travel to Wisconsin to take on the Milwaukee Bucks