National Basketball Association
Charlotte 109, Cleveland 106
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 2, 2020
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Officials: #7 Lauren Holtkamp, #29 Mark Lindsay, #6 Tony Brown
Attendance: 17859

Devonte' Graham made a deep 3-point shot with 23 seconds remaining to break a tie and the Charlotte Hornets rallied in the final minutes for a 109-106 victory against the host Cleveland Cavaliers, ending a six-game losing streak Thursday night.

Graham's two free throws with 9.7 seconds to go helped seal the outcome.

Cedi Osman's 3-pointer gave Cleveland a chance by closing the gap to 108-106 after the Cavaliers managed only three points across a stretch of nearly 5 1/2 minutes.

The Hornets' losing streak began with a loss last month in Cleveland.

The Cavaliers have lost two in a row after winning four of five games.

Charlotte guard Terry Rozier, who supplied a career-high 35 points in his last visit to Cleveland, finished with a game-best 30 points in this matchup. He made six 3-pointers.

Graham ended up with 16 points and 11 assists, while Dwayne Bacon added 15 points, PJ Washington had 14 points and Cody Zeller chipped in with 11 points.

The Hornets shot 15-for-38 on 3s just two nights after Cleveland surrendered 17 baskets from 3-point range in Toronto.

Collin Sexton poured in 21 points for Cleveland, while Kevin Love had 18 points and Osman finished with 17. Darius Garland's 14 points and John Henson's 10 points also helped the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers built a 92-85 lead early in the fourth quarter, sparked by a couple of baskets from Henson.

Then the Hornets wiped out a 100-91 deficit in a matter of 2 1/2 minutes, pulling even on Rozier's basket off a drive through the lane at the 3:16 mark.

Sexton and Rozier both hit 3-pointers before the offenses went cold. The Cavaliers missed six consecutive shots before Osman's late 3.

Cleveland went on a 15-2 run to begin the second quarter. The Cavaliers were 8-for-15 on 3-pointers by early in the second quarter.

But despite shooting 52.6 percent in the first half, the Cavaliers led only 59-52, in part because of their 10 turnovers.

Charlotte shot 37.8 percent from the field in the first half.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Charlotte   Cleveland
Terry Rozier 30 Scoring Collin Sexton 21
Devonte' Graham 11 Assists Darius Garland 8
Cody Zeller 7 Rebounds Tristan Thompson 11
Devonte' Graham 7 Free Throws Made Kevin Love 4
Marvin Williams 2 Steals Larry Nance Jr. 2
N/A Blocks Kevin Love 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Charlotte 109 44.6 15-38 20-24 25 39 0 5 11
Cleveland 106 50.6 13-35 11-14 26 42 3 6 15
Upcoming Games
  • Cleveland will play their next game at home against Oklahoma City. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .300 after a win and .292 after a loss.
  • Charlotte will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Hornets have a W/L % of .462 after a win and .333 after a loss.