Cavs Hold Off Hornets, Take Home Opener

It had been over nine months since the Cavaliers took the hardwood in a competitive regular season contest, but on Wednesday night it looked like they’d never missed a beat.

Other than Charlotte’s late rally which fell just short, almost everything went the Wine & Gold’s way in the 2020-21 season opener – opening up a three-touchdown lead in the second quarter and holding on for the 121-114 win at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The Cavaliers shot 53 percent from the floor, handed out 34 assists on 46 made baskets and featured seven players in double-figures.

After a sluggish first quarter for both teams, the Cavaliers hit the throttle in the second. Charlotte outscored Cleveland in both the third and fourth quarters, but the Cavs – who extended their edge to 24 points early in the second stanza – had enough cushion to hold on and seal the deal.

Collin Sexton played in just one preseason game – and looked awfully rusty in that contest – but he shook said rust off immediately on Wednesday, leading Cleveland with 27 points, going 9-for-16 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from long-range to go with five assists.

Sexton’s backcourt mate also voided an uneven preseason on Wednesday night – finishing up with 22 points, going 7-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from deep to go with six assists, six boards and a steal.

Andre Drummond doubled-up with 14 points, a game-high 14 rebounds and four assists and Larry Nance Jr. – starting in place of the injured Kevin Love – barely missed a triple-double, adding 13 points, 13 boards, a team-high eight assists, three steals and a pair of blocked shots.

Rookie Isaac Okoro rounded out the starters in double-figures, chipping in with 11 points, three boards and five helpers, going 4-of-5 from the floor.

JaVale McGee was outstanding in his Cavaliers debut – notching 13 points in 19 minutes of work off the bench, going 6-of-7 from the floor to go with seven rebounds. Coming off an outstanding preseason, Cedi Osman added 11 points, going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, adding four boards and a pair of assists.

For the Hornets, Youngstown native and Shaker Heights grad Terry Rozier led everyone with 42 points – his third straight game against his hometown team topping the 30-point plateau. On the night, Rozier went 15-for-23 from the floor, canning 10 triples along the way.

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Darius Garland gets past his defender, into the paint, and drops a pass off to Andre Drummond who dunks it home early in the first quarter.

With 5:25 remaining in the second quarter, Gordon Hayward’s short jumper got Charlotte within four points at 44-40. That was as good as it would get for the Hornets.

From that point forward, the Cavs proceeded to go on a 21-4 run – paced by Darius Garland, JaVale McGee and even Dean Wade, who performed well in limited action.

The Cavaliers held on down the stretch – weathering the Hornets 15-2 run that got them to within five points with less than 10 seconds to play.

By the Numbers – 16.5, 10.5, 4.8, 2.3 … points, rebounds, assists and steals per game that Larry Nance Jr. is averaging over his past six starts.

Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and Rafa Hernandez-Brito from Power 89.1.

After getting the season off to a rock-solid start at home – and enjoying the Christmas holiday off – J.B. Bickerstaff’s young squad heads to the Motor City for a Saturday night matchup before returning home to take on Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and the Sixers on Sunday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The Knicks – who Cleveland’s already faced twice in the preseason – roll in on Tuesday night and the Cavaliers close out the calendar year two days later – taking on the Pacers in an afternoon tilt on New Year’s Eve in Indiana.