Cavaliers 118-113 Hornets (Feb 20, 2026) Game Recap
CHARLOTTE, NC — — Donovan Mitchell scored 13 of his 32 factors within the fourth quarter and the streaking Cleveland Cavaliers held off the Charlotte Hornets 118-113 on Friday night time for his or her seventh straight victory and twelfth win in 13 video games.
Jared Allen had 25 factors and 14 rebounds and James Harden added 18 factors and eight assists for the Cavaliers.
Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel completed with 33 factors on seven 3-pointers, giving him 193 made 3s for the season — the second most in NBA historical past by a rookie. Keegan Murray holds the report with 206 units within the 2022-23 season.
LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller every had 18 factors and rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner added 12 factors and 13 rebounds for Charlotte.
Miller’s and-one layup off a no-look feed from Ball reduce Cleveland’s result in 4 with a minute remaining, however Mitchell made a brief jumper and 4 free throws within the remaining 40 seconds to sign the win.
The Cavaliers constructed a 14-point lead within the second quarter and regarded like they have been getting ready to interrupt the sport open, however Knueppel started to warmth up, ending with 4 3s and 16 factors within the first half to chop Cleveland’s lead in to 6. Charlotte took the lead late within the third quarter behind three extra Knueppel 3s.
But Mitchell started to take over along with his bodily play. He acquired to the road 13 instances and made 12 free throws.
Charlotte performed with out suspended forwards Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate and Grant Williamswho sat out with knee damage administration forcing them to play youthful, much less skilled gamers within the frontcourt.
The Cavaliers outscored the Hornets 50-28 within the paint.
The Hornets have now misplaced three of their final 4 video games after successful 9 straight video games simply earlier than the All-Star break.
Cavaliers: At Oklahoma City on Sunday.
Hornets: At Washington on Sunday night time.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
