Hornets fall to Cavaliers behind stellar performances from Garland, Mitchell, and Hunter

After a disappointing Saturday night loss to an Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons, the Charlotte Hornets took on last season's Eastern Conference leader on Monday night.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were coming off a loss of their own, three to be exact (including one against the Hornets last Sunday).

The two teams were throwing punches early, trading threes in a high-scoring first quarter. It was another hot shooting start for LaMelo Ball, who has started to find his rhythm from deep lately. He went 3-4 from three in the first quarter, giving him nine of his eventual 23 points.

Two of the Cavs' three all-stars, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, started to let loose in the second quarter. The two combined for 19 of Cleveland's 37 points, and a Mitchell buzzer-beating logo three gave the Cavs a seven point lead headed into the half.

Cleveland put together a 15-3 run at the end of the third quarter which helped extend their lead to 9 points headed into the fourth quarter, and did not look back from there.

The other guys in Cleveland helped put the game to bed in the fourth.

Dean Wade and DeAndre Hunter combined for 19 fourth quarter points, two more points than the Hornets had in the fourth quarter when they pulled their starters out.

The Hornets' backups showed heart in the fourth, and a 9-3 run from the Buzz required ex-Hornets Head Coach Kenny Atkinson to put his starters back in.

While the starters did make sure the game never got back within striking distance, Liam McNeeley recorded 7 fourth quarter points, and was a +12 in his short six minutes, getting the Hornets deficit to single digits after trailing by as many as 19 during the fourth quarter.

The Hornets fell 139 to 132 to Cleveland, falling to 9-21 on the season.

Moussa Diabate

Moussa Diabate made a name for himself in front of a nationally-televised crowd on Monday night. Though he came off the bench for Mason Plumlee, the Moose hauled in 14 total rebounds, 6 of them being on the offensive glass, and added a career-high 6 steals.

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