Donovan Mitchell scored 13 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter and the streaking Cleveland Cavaliers held off the Charlotte Hornets 118-113 on Friday night for their seventh straight victory and 12th win in 13 games.<\/p>\n
Jared Allen had 25 points and 14 rebounds and James Harden added 18 points and eight assists for the Cavaliers.<\/p>\n
Charlotte\u2019s Kon Knueppel finished with 33 points on seven 3-pointers, giving him 193 made 3s for the season \u2013 the second most in NBA history by a rookie. Keegan Murray holds the record with 206 set in the 2022-23 season.<\/p>\n
LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller each had 18 points and rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner added 12 points and 13 rebounds for Charlotte, which has lost three of four following a nine-game winning streak.<\/p>\n
Miller’s and-one layup off a no-look feed from Ball cut Cleveland’s lead to four with a minute remaining, but Mitchell made a short jumper and four free throws in the final 40 seconds to seal the win.<\/p>\n
The Cavaliers outscored the Hornets 50-28 in the paint.<\/p>\n
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You already know\u2026 7 Wins in a row #LetEmKnow<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/YNJfjWwOgk<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Dennis Schr\u00f6der (@DS17_FG) February 21, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Nuggets set road franchise scoring record<\/p>\n Nikola Jokic had 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 29 1\/2 minutes and the Denver Nuggets routed the Portland Trail Blazers 157-103 for the most points on the road in franchise history and the most in an NBA game this season.<\/p>\n Jamal Murray added 25 points a night after missing the third of three free throws with 0.9 seconds left in a 115-114 loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles. Julian Strawther and Tim Hardaway Jr. each had 19 points.<\/p>\n Denver led 82-53 at the half, going 13 for 22 from the 3-point range and pushed the lead to 55 in the second half.<\/p>\n Jrue Holiday led Portland with 19 points and Deni Avdija had 15 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds, but also had six turnovers.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Whole lotta points pic.twitter.com\/Ch0wjb0oMo<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) February 21, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Doncic, Reaves lead Lakers<\/p>\n Luka Doncic had 38 points and 11 assists, Austin Reaves added 29 points and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Los Angeles Clippers down the stretch for a 125-122 victory.<\/p>\n LeBron James had 13 points and 11 assists for the Lakers in their return from the All-Star break. They blew a 15-point lead in the second half, but Doncic scored 12 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers split the four-game season series with their crosstown rivals.<\/p>\n Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points before missing the final 5:10 with an apparent ankle injury for the Clippers (27-29), who fell just short of getting back to .500 in incredible fashion after their 6-21 start to the season.<\/p>\n Bennedict Mathurin had 26 points and seven rebounds in his second straight outstanding game for his new team before fouling out with 1:49 to play. The athletic guard acquired from Indiana for center Ivica Zubac dropped a career-high-tying 38 against Denver on Thursday.<\/p>\n Derrick Jones Jr. scored on consecutive possessions to trim the Lakers’ lead to 123-120 with 46 seconds left. Nicolas Batum then stole James’ pass in the final seconds, but the Frenchman missed a tying 3-point attempt with 4 seconds left.<\/p>\n Big nights from Luka and Austin pic.twitter.com\/ltb45dRN39<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 21, 2026<\/a>