CLEVELAND — The hottest team in the Eastern Conference returned home to Cleveland with a win.
The Cavaliers, who own the league’s best record at 31-4, beat the Charlotte Hornets 115-100 and have won 10 consecutive games and 14 of their last 15. Through that time, they’ve opened up a 5.5-game lead over the Boston Celtics in the race for the No. 1 seed in the East.
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Here’s how the Cavaliers beat the Hornets on Sunday night.
Cavs beat the Hornets
The Cavs again used a balanced offensive attack with four players scoring at least 17 points to beat the Hornets 115-105. They’re 31-4 this season.
Cavaliers cruising to win No. 31
The Cavs will have the best record in the NBA for at least a few more days, as they’re cruising, now up 115-100 with two minutes to go.
The Cavs are bringing all of their starters out of the game to get some extra minutes for the end of the bench, including first-round pick Jaylon Tyson.
Darius Garland has a game-high 25 points. Jarrett Allen (11 rebounds) and Donovan Mitchell both have 19, and Evan Mobley has 17.
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LaMelo Ball is stuffing the statsheet now that the game is out of reach and is up to 24 points and four assists.
Cavaliers maintain double-digit lead entering fourth quarter; Max Strus dunk goes wrong
The Hornets won’t go away, but they can’t drop the Cavaliers lead to single digits, either, and Cleveland is up 91-78 entering the fourth quarter.
Max Strus has two unsuccessful dunk attempts tonight. On one, he was fouled. On the other, he seemed to lose control of the ball before rejecting himself on the rim. It wasn’t pretty, but he does have nine points and three assists tonight.
Hornets forward Brandon Miller shoots beside Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley in the first quarter, Jan. 5, 2025, in Cleveland.
Brandon Miller heats up, Cavs lead over Hornets shrinks in third quarter
Brandon Miller is on fire, and the Hornets have chipped away at the Cavaliers’ lead, which now stands at 76-64 with seven minutes left in the third quarter.
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Miller has 11 points in the third quarter already, including a quick 3 he just buried to make it a 12-point deficit. He now has 22 points tonight to lead the Hornets.
Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen each have 15 points for the Cavs. It’s been a slow night for Donovan Mitchell, who is still in single digits with nine points.
Cavaliers forward Dean Wade celebrates with center Jarrett Allen (middle) in the second quarter against the Hornets, Jan. 5, 2025, in Cleveland.
Cavs lead Hornets at halftime; Jarrett Allen, LaMelo Ball are the top scorers
The Cavs will take a 63-48 lead into halftime.
Jarrett Allen has a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds in what has been a really strong offensive night for a center who hasn’t always been as involved within this offense.
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LaMelo Ball has a team-high 15 points for the Hornets, though he’s also just 1-for-7 from 3-point range.
Hornets guard LaMelo Ball brings the ball up court in the second quarter against the Cavaliers, Jan. 5, 2025, in Cleveland.
LaMelo Ball flop draws laughs from Cavaliers crowd
The Cavs are finding some humor from a couple of LaMelo Ball flops.
Ball has twice very obviously flopped, once after a light touch from Darius Garland that led to Ball careening across the floor and again late in the second quarter, when as he was driving, Ball had some contact on his arm but flailed both arms and his head to draw a foul. Upon showing the replay, quite a few Cavs fans couldn’t but laugh at the Oscar-worthy attempt.
Who’s winning the Cavaliers-Hornets game?
The Cavs continue to have stretches in which the Hornets just can’t cover every inch of the floor like they need to in order to slow down Kenny Atkinson’s offense, and Cleveland has pushed their lead out to 39-25 with 9:08 left in the second quarter.
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Most recently, as the Cavs kept running the floor and finding space, Max Strus drilled a 3 and then Ty Jerome found Evan Mobley with a no-look pass that led to an easy dunk.
Hornets forward Miles Bridges drives between Cavaliers forwards Evan Mobley (4) and forward Georges Niang in the second quarter, Jan. 5, 2025, in Cleveland.
Cavs, Hornets score: Cleveland leads after first quarter, Charlotte battles back
The Cavalier offense hit a stall just long enough for the Hornets to get back into it, and Cleveland will take 29-23 lead into the second quarter.
Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball led the charge back for Charlotte, scoring eight and seven points, respectively.
Darius Garland has a team-high seven points for the Cavs on 3-for-7 shooting from the floor. Jarrett Allen has six points, and Georges Niang has five off the bench.
Cavs, Hornets score: Cleveland starts hot
The Cavs have jumped out to an early 9-2 lead.
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Jarrett Allen has back-to-back baskets, Dean Wade opened with a 3 and Evan Mobley has a bucket, and the Cavs are up 9-2 two minutes into the game. The offense is still rolling.
Below is some pregame information.
Cavs return home to Cleveland after 4-0 road trip into Western Conference
The Cavs improved to 10-0 against Western Conference teams this season after going 4-0 on their four-game road trip against teams from the West. They opened it by rolling to wins over Denver 149-135 and Golden State 113-95, the 2023 and 2022 NBA champs, respectively. Then they beat the Lakers 122-110 in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve. The Cavs wrapped it up with a 134-122 win at Dallas, last year’s Western Conference champion, as seven Cleveland players scored in double-figures.
Cavaliers vs. Hornets injury report
The Cavs will still be without Isaac Okoro for the next several weeks, and they’ll also be without Sam Merrill, who has been listed as out tonight against the Hornets due to an ankle injury.
How can I watch, listen, stream Cavs vs. Hornets game?
Sunday’s game can be watched locally on the FanDuel Sports Network. It can be heard on the radio via WMMS (100.7-FM) and WTAM (1100-AM).
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavaliers score vs Charlotte Hornets live NBA updates