Hornets get much-needed win, defeat Cavaliers
FILE — Miles Bridges #0 of the Charlotte Hornets dunks the ball during the first quarter of their game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Spectrum Center on February 03, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images/AFP
Miles Bridges scored 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and made key plays on offense down the stretch as the Charlotte Hornets topped the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 108-102 for a much-needed victory Friday night.
P.J. Washington and Terry Rozier also each supplied 25 points for the Hornets (29-30), who won for just the second time in their last eight games.
It was a damaging defeat for the Cavaliers (21-38), who won the two previous meetings with Charlotte this season.
The Cavaliers received big games from Collin Sexton, who racked up 28 points, and Darius Garland, who finished with 27 points and six assists. Jarrett Allen added 15 points and Kevin Love had 12 points.
Cleveland led 87-83 with seven minutes to play. The Hornets responded by scoring the next eight points, with three-point plays by Rozier and Brad Wanamaker the bookends for that spurt.
The Cavaliers were within 98-95 before Bridges scored on a drive to the basket, then drained a jumper and finished the flurry by drilling a 3-pointer for a personal seven-point splash in less than 90 seconds.
The injury-riddled Hornets have been mired in an offensive slump, defined by several factors. They cleaned up much of that as they were charged with only five turnovers. Devonte’ Graham provided 10 assists, though he shot 2-for-13 on 3s (and 3-for-16 overall).
The Cavaliers committed 17 turnovers, negating some of the impact of shooting 51.2 percent from the field.
Cleveland led 55-48 at halftime.
Garland ended up shooting 12-for-20 from the field and Sexton was 11-for-19.
The Cavaliers shot just 10-for-30 on 3-pointers, so their 31-for-50 rate on 2-point attempts was rather impressive.
The Hornets, who used only eight players, made yet another lineup adjustment, leaving rookie center Vernon Carey Jr. on the bench for the entire game after he was in recent starting lineups. Jalen McDaniels moved to a reserve role and chipped in with 10 points in 25 minutes.
