Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell On Close Victory Over Hornets: ‘We Won. That Was … We Won’

Somehow, someway, the Cavaliers didn’t lose. But by golly, it was close.

As you know, the Cavs extended their winning streak to 13 games with a 118-117 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night at the Spectrum Center.

Despite a sluggish start and a late push from the Hornets, Cleveland held on for its second-longest streak of the season — just two shy of the franchise-record 15 consecutive wins to open the year.

Donovan Mitchell, who led the Cavs with 24 points, summed up the night in just a few words.

“We won. That was … we won. Yeah. We won,” he told reporters in Charlotte.

The game, a potential trap game for Cleveland, came between a hard-fought home victory over Miami and an upcoming showdown with division rival Milwaukee. The Hornets, who have struggled all season, had only one win since February 8 and were mired in the middle of a rough stretch. Still, Cleveland got off to a slow start, tying Charlotte 27-27 after the first quarter.

However, the Cavs regained control early in the second, using a 12-5 run to build a seven-point lead — the largest of the night for either team at that point. By halftime, Cleveland led by 11 points and appeared poised to cruise to a routine victory.

But the Hornets, energized by their home crowd, mounted a strong comeback. They cut the deficit to four points entering the final frame and seized the lead with 9:01 remaining. By the six-minute mark, Cleveland found itself trailing by nine points, facing the prospect of yet another dramatic fourth-quarter comeback. This marked their fifth consecutive game in which they needed to rally from behind in the final period.

The Cavaliers responded, cutting Charlotte’s lead to three with 3:01 left, thanks in part to a lockdown defense that saw the Hornets miss six of seven shots. With time winding down, Evan Mobley, who earlier this season set a career high for points in Charlotte, drained a step-back three-pointer in front of the Cleveland bench to tie the game. Darius Garland, who had been in foul trouble earlier, then broke the tie with a pair of free throws.

In the closing moments, De’Andre Hunter‘s putback on a missed shot by Mitchell gave Cleveland a two-point lead, which they would not relinquish. The Hornets managed to cut the deficit to one several times in the final seconds but could not regain the lead. A final half-court heave as time expired was off the mark after Mitchell missed two free throws in the closing seconds.

Cleveland, which ended the game on a 23-13 run, capitalized on free throws, hitting 17 of 31 points in the fourth quarter from the charity stripe. The Cavs attempted 51 free throws on the night, their most since 2007. Their defense also stifled the Hornets in the final minutes, limiting Charlotte to just three field goals over the last 5:38.

“We won, but we didn’t play great,” Mitchell said. “We’re winning games, but I’m always going to hold us to a high standard, myself included. It was a rough start. We should not have been in that position. Mistakes. Turnovers. Defensive mishaps. Not pressuring the ball. Rebounds. We played down. That’s on us. We had some slippage today.”

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Mitchell’s performance included a tough shooting night, going 6-of-19 from the field and 0-of-6 from three, though he did hit 12 of 18 free throws. Garland added 20 points, six of which came in the fourth quarter, while Mobley posted 19 points and 10 rebounds. Jarrett Allen also contributed with a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 11 boards. Hunter (15 points) and Sam Merrill (12 points) were also key contributors off the bench.

The Hornets were led by Miles Bridges, who scored a career-high 46 points, and LaMelo Ball, who finished with 13 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers, now 13-0 in their last 13 games, continue to find ways to win despite moments of inconsistency. As coach Kenny Atkinson noted, “Our group is so resilient. Our guys stuck with it, made some big plays and then executed excellently at the end. We did all the little things to squeeze out the win.”

With the victory, the Cavaliers remain among the league’s top teams, but the challenge of maintaining focus and energy for the remainder of the season looms large. “It’s find-a-way time of year,” Atkinson said.