CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 13 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Charlotte Hornets 118-113 on Friday night for their seventh straight victory and 12th in 13 games.
Jared Allen of the Cavaliers had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and James Harden had 18 points and 8 assists.
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Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel hit 7 three-pointers and scored 33 points. He has made 193 three-pointers this season, the second most by a rookie in NBA history. Keegan Murray set the record with 206 games in 2022-23.
LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller each scored 18 points, and rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner added 12 points and 13 rebounds for Charlotte.
Miller’s layup on Ball’s no-look shot cut Cleveland’s lead to four points with a minute left, but Mitchell nailed a short jumper and four free throws in the final 40 seconds to seal the victory.
The Cavaliers built a 14-point lead in the second quarter and looked like they were on track to break the game open, but Knuupel started to heat up, scoring 16 points with four 3-pointers in the first half, cutting Cleveland’s lead to six points. Charlotte took the lead late in the third quarter on three 3-pointers by Knupper.
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But Mitchell began to take over the game with his physicality. He went to the free throw line 13 times and made 12 of his free throws.
Charlotte played without suspended forwards Miles Bridges, Moussa Diabate and Grant Williams with knee injuries, forcing them to use younger, less experienced players in the frontcourt.
The Cavaliers defeated the Hornets 50-28 in the paint.
After winning nine straight games before the All-Star break, the Hornets have now lost three of their past four games.
Next
Cavaliers: At Oklahoma City on Sunday.
Hornets: At Washington on Sunday night.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
