Thomas Jr. made his debut
The Charlotte Hornets have won just two of their last 13 games, and the Eastern Conference dark horse is on its way away from the playoffs. The Cleveland Cavaliers, by contrast, seem more suited to the title of Dark Horse of the East this season. As a team that has been in disarray for two consecutive years, they have risen completely this season, and their record once came to second place in the East. However, the team has been in a bit of trouble recently, with injuries ensuing, with three major point guards Garland, Le Vere and Rondo injured in succession, but Garland returned in this game.
This game, the Cavaliers will sit at home against the Charlotte Hornets, which is undoubtedly a challenging game. The Hornets have the league's first-high average of points per game, Lamelo Ball is the best of the new generation of point guards, and Thomas Jr. will make his Hornets debut in this game, which is undoubtedly a big spot.
Ball played just 8 minutes
Who would have thought that Lameló Ball suffered an injury in the first quarter, played only 8 minutes, got 2 points, 4 assists and 2 steals, and then never played again. However, Oubre on the Bench of the Hornets felt hot, with 14 points and 1 rebound on 5-of-5 shooting, and with his help, the team exploded 38 points in a single quarter, but the Cavaliers also scored 31 points, including Garland 6 points and 2 assists, and Allen 8 points and 2 rebounds. After returning from the second quarter, the Cavaliers fell into a scoring drought, scoring only 18 points in a single quarter, and Allen and Garland combined to score 12 points.
The Hornets seized the opportunity, and Rozier blasted 11 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in the quarter, and under his leadership, the Hornets led the Cavaliers by 15 points at the end of the half. In the second half, Thomas Jr. made a lot of effort, 7 points and 1 steal on 3-of-5 shooting, the Hornets briefly extended the lead to 24 points, Garland led the team to chase, Osman and Markkanen both stepped forward in time, Garland hit a whistle-pressing three-pointer in the last minute, helping the Cavaliers to narrow the point gap to 16 points at the end of the third quarter. A small difference, the suspense still exists.
After returning from the final quarter, Thomas Jr. hit another three-pointer, Bridges kept winning, and the Hornets once again stretched the lead to 20 points. Garland carried the team in the final quarter, scoring 9 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist on 3-of-5 shooting, but there was really no helper around. With 4 minutes left in the game, the Cavaliers replaced the main force and announced that the shot was concede. In the end, the Charlotte Hornets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers by 21 points 119-98, ending a two-game losing streak.
The Dark Horse of the East returns
The Charlotte Hornets finally won a game, giving us a glimpse of the temperament of the dark horse in the East. Thomas Jr. played a very amazing personal performance in this game, playing 14 minutes, with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, and hit 2 three-pointers. For a team like the Hornets that has no defense and only relies on offense, Thomas Jr. is really a perfect fit. Rozier had a team-high 29 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Oubre was 19 points, four rebounds and five assists, and Bridges had 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
The Cavaliers lost the game, and Garland's comeback failed to succeed as a savior, but he still played a star-level performance, shooting 13-of-22, 5-of-10 from three-point range, and getting 33 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. However, in addition to Garland, the Cavaliers only had 2 people to score in double figures, With Allen having 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Markkanen having 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Mobley and Osman both had nine points, while Love had seven points, one rebound and five assists.