Charlotte’s Defense Closes Out Cavs, Miller Matches Rookie 3-Point Record

Having played all but four of their past 17 games away from Spectrum Center, the Charlotte Hornets were rightfully a bit road weary going into Wednesday evening’s rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Already opening a franchise-record eight-game homestand, the vibes got even better thanks to a 118-111 win against a team they lost to by 23 points just two nights ago.   

Going into the contest, Charlotte had only reached 100 points six times since the All-Star Break, though they managed to hit triple digits before the third quarter was even over in this one. Brandon Miller had arguably the best game of his young NBA career, finishing with 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting and a career-high seven 3-pointers, which ties DJ Augustin, PJ Washington, and LaMelo Ball for the franchise’s rookie single-game record.

Down 14 early on, Charlotte survived the Cavaliers stacking 43 first quarter points on 73% shooting, then took the middle two frames by a combined 67-53 margin, to enter the fourth with a four-point cushion. Despite facing some increased ball pressure on the offensive end, the Hornets stayed in front until a 12-3 Cleveland run swung the score four points the other way.

Now trailing 111-107 at the 3:28 mark, the Hornets strung together a lead-taking 6-0 stretch, that was punctuated with Miller dropping in a tough eight-foot floater over center Jarrett Allen. Two empty Cleveland possessions and two Grant Williams free throws later, Caris LeVert got past the defending Miles Bridges, but took an extra step and was whistled for a travel. About 15 seconds later, Miller drained the dagger 3-pointer from the right corner to ice it.

“We got our defense set, our pick-and-roll coverage was better,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford, when asked about the team’s game-ending 11-0 run. “We played right out of our base. We got in trouble early trying to double team [Darius] Garland, just like we did the other night. At the end of the game, we did nothing special. We just played out of our base and the guys did a good job. [Brandon] was big. He made big plays, but he got going in the second half (18 points on 6-of-10 shooting). Another really good performance.”

Said Miller, “I think it’s just my teammates building my confidence every day, on and off the court. To be comfortable to take shots like that and then in tough situations... I think playing together the whole game and sticking with each other is why we got the win tonight. Being on a losing streak, I think a win like this can start something great. We’ll try to build off this.”

Bridges (17), Tre Mann (17), Williams (16), Nick Richards (11), Vasilije Micić (11) and Aleksej Pokuševski (10) also scored in double figures for Charlotte, which shot a season-best 57.9% (44-of-76) against Cleveland’s fourth-ranked defense. Richards grabbed 10 rebounds for his 19^th double-double of the year, while Micić dished out a career-high 12 assists for the second double-double of his NBA career. The Hornets additionally scored 27 points off 15 Cavaliers turnovers and ran up 58 points in the paint on a 78.4% efficiency (29-of-37).

On the other side, Allen tallied 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting and eight rebounds, although did miss a pair of key free throws during the Hornets’ late 11-0 run. Max Strus scored 19 points and went 5-of-10 from 3-point range in his first appearance since March 5, with Sam Merrill adding 17 points and another 5-of-11 3-point clip off the bench (started 4-of-4, finished 1-of-7).

The Hornets will next host the Golden State Warriors on Friday, March 29 beginning at 7 PM ET at Spectrum Center. Follow all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.