Cleveland Cavaliers, nearly full strength for the first time all season, beat Charlotte Hornets 103-90 – cleveland.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Health has been one of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ greatest adversaries this season. But they are finally close to full strength — and eager to find out what that means over the final month.

Wednesday was a good start. The Cavs snapped their two-game losing streak, beating the short-handed Charlotte Hornets, 103-90. It’s Cleveland’s 20th win, surpassing the mark from each of the previous two seasons.

Still without leading scorer Collin Sexton, who missed his second game with a groin injury, Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff used his 25th starting lineup in the first 54 games. But this one resembled more of what Bickerstaff thought he would have — Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Kevin Love, Jarrett Allen and fill-in forward Dean Wade, the latter being the piece that wasn’t in the original plan.

Garland’s return from a one-game absence because of a sprained ankle helped ignite the offense early. With added spacing because of Love and Wade together, the Cavs scored the first seven points and never relented, nearly going wire-to-wire. The Hornets moved in front just once, for 17 seconds in the third quarter. But each Hornets’ surge was met with an answer. Taurean Prince 3-pointers. Garland runners. Love post-ups. Allen finishes around the rim. A clutch Wade triple in the fourth quarter.

Prince, who missed almost all of March with shoulder and ankle issues, led the way with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range. Prince has reached double figures in six straight games.

“He went through a long stretch where he didn’t get a chance to play because of injury, so he had to find his way back a little bit,” Bickerstaff said of Prince. “But you look at what he’s been able to do, he’s been able to be a really consistent punch off the bench. Not only on the offensive end, but he gets a ton of deflections, he comes up with steals, he provides opportunities in transition where he runs, he can attack off the dribble and make 3s. He’s kind of finding his rhythm with the group.”

Love, out for 43 games during the first few months because of a high-grade calf strain, recorded a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. At one point, when the Hornets cut the lead to five and the rowdy crowd started anticipating a comeback, Cleveland fed Love in the post on back-to-back possessions. Defended both times by smaller guards, Love muscled the ball through and flexed with Garland after his second bucket that pushed the lead back to 10 and forced a Charlotte timeout.

Garland chipped in with 17 points and seven assists. Allen, back after eight games on the sidelines with a concussion, added 15 points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes. The Cavs had 27 assists on 37 makes.

“The ball is popping, bodies are moving and we’re harder to guard because we’re less isolated,” Bickerstaff said. “Everybody feels like they’re a part of it, everybody’s getting their opportunity, so they’re willing to make that extra pass because they know at some point that extra one is going to come back to them. I think that’s what it is. It’s about moving the ball, it’s about sharing the ball and letting everybody participate in the offense.”

Charlotte was without LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward and P.J. Washington. The Cavs know all about dealing with adversity. It’s been the story of their season. Perhaps that’s finally in the past — and a late-season push is coming.

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Love’s second rebound on the night was No. 8,000 in his illustrious career, becoming the fifth player in NBA history with at least 13,000 points, 8,000 rebounds and 1,000 made 3-pointers. Love joined LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd on that list. Love also passed Jim Brewer for eighth place all-time in Cavaliers rebounding.

Up next

The Cavs return home to play the second game of a back-to-back against the Golden State Warriors. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.