Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points and Darius Garland and De’Andre Hunter each had 27 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 139-132 victory over the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball produced 23 points and nine assists while Moussa Diabate had five points, a season-high 14 rebounds and a career-best six steals. Rookie Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller scored 20 points each for the Hornets, who have split their past four games, starting with a 119-111 overtime win at Cleveland on Dec. 14.
Hunter extended the Cavaliers’ lead to 98-85 late in the third quarter, staying in the game after taking an elbow to the nose from Diabate. He made both free throws and a 3-pointer after the flagrant foul, drawing a loud ovation from the crowd.
Cleveland brought a 70-63 lead into halftime after Mitchell sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Mitchell had 18 points in the opening two quarters and Garland added 17, while Ball and Knueppel each scored 15 for Charlotte.
Garland scored eight points in the first two minutes and Ball put up nine in the first three minutes in an energetic opening quarter that ended with the Hornets in front 36-33. Hunter paced the Cavaliers with nine points in the frame.
Cleveland was as healthy as it has been in more than a month, missing only one starter, Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley (strained left calf). Mitchell returned after a one-game absence caused by an illness, sitting out a 136-125 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday.
Charlotte was without rookie center Ryan Kalkbrenner (left elbow sprain) and shooting guard Collin Sexton (left quadriceps strain). Injuries have kept Sexton, a former Cavaliers starter, out of uniform for seven games.
