Cavaliers fall in overtime to lowly Hornets

CLEVELAND — Until the Cavaliers start playing hard for 48 minutes, embarrassing losses like Sunday will continue to occur. Cleveland dropped a 119-111 overtime decision to the lowly Charlotte Hornets (8-18) at Rocket Arena. The Cavs (15-12) fought their way back from a 17-point deficit to grab a three-point lead in the waning moments of the fourth quarter. Instead of fouling, they allowed Hornets guard Brandon Miller to drain a 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining that sent the game into overtime. Miller's defender, point guard Darius Garland, was knocked to the ground on the crucial play. "We are a foul team in that position," Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. "Darius was in a great position (on defense). I'm not criticizing the refs, but in this league, you just go through a guy's chest when he's in a legal guarding position (and it's not a foul)." Still, Cleveland had a chance to win it in regulation, but guard Donovan Mitchell's 12-footer was off the mark at the buzzer. "It was exactly how we drew it up," Atkinson said. "It was good execution." Once the teams got to overtime, it was all Charlotte, which outscored the Cavs 8-0 to win going away. Cleveland missed all nine of its field-goal attempts in OT. Garland had a season-high 26 points and dished out nine assists. "He broke through," Atkinson said. "He's starting to find it. I liked his spirit. He was phenomenal in the first half. He's engaging his teammates. I loved his energy. That's what we needed to get back to the DG we know." At least twice in the game, Garland tweaked his left big toe and was hobbled on the court. He said afterward he's tired of talking about his toe. "He gets these stingers with a hard plant or a hard change of direction," Atkinson said. Garland said things are starting to come together for him. "It's getting there slowly but surely," he said. Garland was asked why he so desperately wants to be out on the floor with his teammates. "I get paid a lot of money to do that," he said. "We have to be ready to play for all 48 minutes. We have to communicate a little more. We just have to find it." The Cavs got back in the game using a small lineup with 6-foot-9 Dean Wade at center and surrounding him with four guards. Wade finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and a steal. "He means a lot to this team," Garland said. "He's out there battling on every possession. He's a good fit for this team." Atkinson said he decided to start Wade to help with rebounding and playing defense. "We needed to go small and spread the floor," he said. "I think we're going to need that with Evan (Mobley) out and (Jarrett Allen) trying to find his rhythm." Swingman Jaylon Tyson finished with 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for Cleveland. He said the Cavs continually fall behind early and then turn it on in the fourth quarter. "It's got to be better," he said. "It's been a problem for a while now." Allen, who had missed nine of Cleveland's previous 10 games with a finger injury, ended with nine points and three rebounds. He shot 3-of-9 from the field and had two of his shots blocked by Charlotte's Ryan Kalkbrenner. He hasn't played since Nov. 28, and it looked like it. Much will be expected out of him with the calf injury to Mobley, who will be sidelined two to four weeks. Hornets forward Kon Knueppel, a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate, might have been the best player on the court. He finished with a game-high 29 points and four rebounds. The 6-6, 215-pounder was a teammate of Cleveland guard Tyrese Proctor at Duke last season. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.