The Cleveland Cavaliers spoiled AWS Rivals Week with a dominant 94-87 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. LaMelo Ball's Hornets hosted Lonzo Ball's Cavaliers in a matchup featuring the Ball brothers on opposite sidelines, but it was Cleveland's suffocating defense that stole the show.
LaMelo Ball had one of his worst nights of the season. LaMelo Ball scored two points on 1-for-15 shooting, missing all 10 of his threes while playing 22 minutes off the bench, delivering a game-high seven assists. Coach Charles Lee brought Ball off the bench to manage his minutes during the first night of a back-to-back, but the strategy backfired as Charlotte struggled early and couldn't recover.
Cleveland's stifling on-ball pressure defense repeatedly forced Charlotte into uncharacteristic turnovers and hurried shots. Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers were solid on defense. Evan Mobley provided 14 points and 14 rebounds, Jaylon Tyson posted 14 points and Jarrett Allen had 13 points. The Hornets couldn't establish rhythm offensively, particularly in the first half when the Hornets tied a season low with 12 points in the second quarter and trailed 56-32 lead at the break.
The Hornets got their transition game going in the third quarter and cut the lead to 12 points behind back-to-back alley-oop passes from LaMelo Ball to Miller. Brandon Miller led Charlotte with 24 points, but it wasn't enough. Charlotte ended up shooting 33.7% from the field and made 8 of 47 3-pointers (17%). The Hornets' shooting woes proved insurmountable as the Cavs held on for their third road win in their last four games.