Without LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Moussa Diabaté, Tre Mann, Nick Richards, Tidjane Salaün and Grant Williams, the Hornets are necessarily very limited when hosting the Cavaliers, the best team in the league.
Charles Lee thus starts veteran Taj Gibson, whom he had not used for several matches, and Evan Mobley enjoys the other side. The interior is confident, especially behind the 3-point line, and he shoots at everything. After 12 minutes, he already has 23 points at 9/10 shooting, including 5/5 from distance!
Evan Mobley's huge burst of heat calms down, and the Hornets can then begin to come back, thanks to the carelessness of Brandon Miller but also the impact of the leaping Mark Williams, who clearly has ants in his legs while This is his third match since leaving the infirmary…
Charlotte is not far away, taking advantage of a Cleveland team that thinks more about managing its lead than making it grow, but that is not enough to succeed in getting ahead, despite all the energy of DaQuan Jeffries.
But the Hornets continue to push, and Brandon Miller brings them back to four small points (100-104) with five minutes remaining. Will the “momentum” finally shift? Spoiler: no, because Evan Mobley returns to the window to increase the gap, and allow his team to achieve a fourth consecutive success (102-116).
WHAT TO REMEMBER
– Evan Mobley at the start and finish. The Cavaliers interior broke his career-high in points behind a monstrous first quarter. He scored 23 of his 41 points, but he was also decisive at the end of the match, scoring the baskets which prevented the Hornets from believing in the hold-up.
– Mark Williams’ good minutes. His playing time is limited, so he only played 11 minutes. But we saw the pivot clearly during his visits to the field. His energy and physical impact did a lot of good for the Hornets, undermined by injuries. He finished with 12 points on 5/5 shooting and 5 rebounds.
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
