CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Hornets finally found the basket from long range Monday night, burying Cleveland under a pile of 3-pointers in a 124-112 home win that ended a six-game losing streak.
Grayson Allen led the way with 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Naz Reid posted 25 points and 13 rebounds, and Tidjane Salaun gave Charlotte 14 off the bench. Ryan Kalkbrenner pulled down 15 rebounds as the Hornets won the glass 49-32.
A team that began the night 29th in the league in 3-point accuracy, at 28.8 percent, went 12 of 24 from deep before halftime and finished 23 of 46. Allen, Reid and Salaun accounted for 52 of the 69 points Charlotte put up in the first half, which ended with the Hornets ahead by 16.
Sion James hit three big 3s in the third quarter as the margin grew to 33. Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson kept his starters on the bench for the entire fourth quarter, and his reserves trimmed the gap to 118-110 with about four minutes left. Royce O’Neale answered from the right side with a 3-pointer at the 2:40 mark to restore a 13-point cushion.
The Hornets pulled it off while short three regular starters. Moussa Diabate sat with a quadriceps injury, Kon Knueppel with a hamstring problem and Brandon Miller with a strained hip. Charlotte had not won since Oct. 26, and the victory came against a Cleveland team that arrived needing a bounce-back night of its own.
Meleek Thomas scored 18 to lead the Cavaliers, who slipped a game under .500. Donovan Mitchell and James Harden managed 11 points apiece and shot a combined 7 of 20. Cleveland visits the Knicks on Wednesday.
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