Hornets hold Cavaliers scoreless in overtime, end two-game skid

While eyes were focused on the Carolina Panthers and their pursuit of the team's first playoff appearance in eight years, the Charlotte Hornets took on the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena in downtown Cleveland.

The Hornets were coming in losers of four of their last five, and it would be another night without LaMelo Ball, Tre Mann, and Collin Sexton, leading the team to give KJ Simpson and Sion James significantly more minutes.

The Hornets came out the gate hot in the first quarter, with Kon Knueppel and Sion James each scoring 9 points. The two former Duke teammates have been putting together fantastic rookie campaigns, and have been a big part of the Hornets' identity this season.

The Hornets went on to hold the Cavs under 20 points in the second quarter, and were able to take a double digit lead headed into the second half. From there, a 14-3 run in the middle of the third quarter pushed their lead up to 17, but the Cavs continued to loom.

They put together a 16-5 run right after the Hornets extended their lead to 17, and a Dean Wade three 6 minutes into the fourth quarter gave the Cavs a one point lead.

The Hornets responded with a Brandon Miller three and Kon Knueppel bucket to bring the Hornets lead back to three with about 3:30 remaining.

The two teams traded buckets, and a Brandon Miller three pointer with 4.7 seconds on the clock while the Hornets were trailing three sent the game to overtime.

The Hornets held the Cavaliers to 0 points on 0/10 in overtime, and ended their slide with a 119-111 victory over last season's Eastern Conference #1 seed.

Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel

Fresh off of 30 points from both Knueppel and Miles Bridges, the Hornets 2023 and 2025 first round picks' each had exceptional performances against Cleveland.

Knueppel finished with 29 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Just one game after recording 33 points, Kon matched it up with another great game, helping push his case for ROTY.

Miller has had a disappointing start to his third season, and Sunday evening may have been his best performance of the entire season. He finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists, with the game-tying three pointer towards the end of regulation, and his 2 points in overtime were too much for Cleveland to overcome.

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