NBA: Hornets bury Cavaliers with 23 threes, snap skid

The Charlotte Hornets snapped their six-game losing streak after pulling off a statement win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, 124-112, in the NBA regular season on Nov. 9, 2026 (Nov. 10, Philippine time), at Spectrum Center.

After a week of frustration, the Hornets finally breathed a sigh of relief, returning to the NBA win column in front of 17,471 fans in attendance.

Charlotte entered the game shooting a dismal 28.8% from 3-point range but completely reversed its fortunes with its best perimeter shooting performance of the season.

The Hornets torched Cleveland, knocking down 23 of their 46 attempts from beyond the arc for a 50% shooting clip to secure the momentum-boosting victory.

However, it wasn’t the dream start Charlotte had envisioned after Cleveland jumped ahead with a quick 14-5 lead, courtesy of Peyton Watson’s early second-chance points and Jarrett Allen’s dominance in the paint.

Just when the Cavaliers thought they could reverse their slow starts, the one-two punch of Grayson Allen and Naz Reid spoiled their plans as the Hornets rallied to take a 29-28 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The turning point came in the second quarter, when Grayson Allen spearheaded Charlotte’s offensive surge, helping the Hornets outscore Cleveland, 40-25, to build a 69-53 halftime lead.

Allen knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, backed by Reid’s offensive contributions that forced Cleveland to call timeouts.

The Cavaliers failed to restore order before halftime as Donovan Mitchell and James Harden struggled to find their rhythm against Charlotte’s defense.

Cleveland tried to give Mitchell easier looks at the start of the third quarter by running plays through the high post and deploying multiple screens along the baseline, but the superstar continued to struggle with his shooting.

When Mitchell went cold, the Cavaliers ran pick-and-roll plays through Harden and Jarrett Allen, but Charlotte’s defensive schemes were ready for the adjustments, with Ryan Kalkbrenner anchoring the Hornets’ interior defense.

The Cavaliers appeared to wave the white flag after Charlotte extended its lead to a game-high 33 points, prompting Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson to rely on his reserves throughout the fourth quarter.

Cleveland’s reserves mounted a comeback, outscoring Charlotte, 32-17, in the final period and cutting the deficit to just eight points, 118-110, before Kalkbrenner’s putback and Royce O’Neale’s 3-pointer helped the Hornets seal the much-needed victory.

Grayson Allen led the Hornets with 27 points on 6-of-12 shooting from 3-point range, along with six assists and four rebounds.

Reid backed Allen with a double-double of 25 points and 13 rebounds, while Tidjane Salaun and Sion James added 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Kalkbrenner also played a crucial role in Charlotte’s victory, grabbing 15 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards, as the Hornets dominated the rebounding battle, 49-32.

The victory was particularly significant for Charlotte, which played without injured starters Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel and Moussa Diabate.

Cleveland, meanwhile, was led by rookie reserve Meleek Thomas with 18 points, while Watson added 13 and Jarrett Allen contributed 12.

Charlotte will look to maintain its momentum and secure back-to-back wins against Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 13, Philippine time, while Cleveland aims to regroup against the defending NBA champion New York Knicks on Nov. 12, Philippine time.