Hot shooting Cavaliers snap three-game skid with win over Hornets

CLEVELAND — Perhaps De'Andre Hunter should get hit in the nose more often. The Cavaliers forward caught fire after catching an elbow to the face in the third quarter with 13 of his 27 points in his team's 139-132 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday at Rocket Arena. Cleveland (16-14) snapped a three-game losing streak and avenged an overtime defeat to the Hornets on Dec. 14. Hunter, who had been suffering through a shooting slump, was flattened after a flagrant-1 foul on Charlotte forward/center Moussa Diabate with 3:12 left in the third quarter. He went to the locker room and was informed he would have to come out of the game unless he shot the corresponding free throws. "I was waiting for my nose to stop bleeding," Hunter said. "If it wasn't broken, I wanted to go back in (the game)." He finished 9-of-14 from the field, 4-of-5 from the 3-point line and made all five of his free throws. He added five rebounds and one steal. "He's a tough dude," Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. "That was a heck of a shot he took. If he had not shot the free throws, he couldn't have come back in the game. He miraculously recovered." Cleveland had been last in the NBA in 3-point accuracy since the hand injury to guard Sam Merrill. He returned after a 14-game absence on Monday. Merrill had just four points and dished out five assists in 26 minutes. On the night of Merrill's return, the Cavs buried a season-high 24 3-pointers in 44 attempts. "Sam makes a difference," Atkinson said. "His numbers were not great. He provided a big boost for us." Shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, battling foul trouble in the second half, led all scorers with 30 points, four rebounds and five assists. He connected on 10-of-18 shots from the field and 6-of-11 from behind the arc. Point guard Darius Garland was outstanding with 27 points, five rebounds, a game-high 10 assists and two steals. He said he planned on playing in tonight's game against New Orleans, which would be his first back-to-back game of the season. Garland tweaked his left big toe in the fourth quarter but stayed in the contest. "Give him a lot of credit," Atkinson said. "He's playing through a lot." He was also accurate from the field with 9-of-16 attempts, 5-of-6 from long distance and 4-of-4 from the foul line. "I'm feeling better every day," Garland said. "It meant a lot to have (Merrill) on the floor with us. He's trying to get his confidence back. He draws so much attention when he's out there." Forward Dean Wade added 14 points and seven rebounds. He also drained 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Center Jarrett Allen contributed 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks, while Thomas Bryant added 10 points. Cleveland shot .552 from the field, .545 from the 3-point line and made all 19 of its free-throw attempts. "It was really good to see the ball go through the time," Garland said. Atkinson agreed. "Hopefully, this will get us going and propel us," he said. Despite all the positives, the Cavs were outrebounded 44-31, including 17-6 on the offensive glass. "We're not a good rebounding team," Atkinson said. "We've got to be better." Cleveland dished out 35 assists in the game. Guard LaMelo Ball had a team-high 23 points and nine assists for the Hornets (9-20), while Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller each added 20 points. Diabate pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds and matched Cleveland's six offensive boards. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.