Darius Garland’s 25 points and Ty Jerome’s 24 points helped carry the Cleveland Cavaliers as they maintained their unbeaten record by beating the visiting Charlotte Hornets 128-114 on Sunday night.
Four Cleveland players had more than 20 points as the Cavaliers extended their franchise-best winning streak to 15 games. They are the fourth team in NBA history to begin a season 15-0. Only the Golden State Warriors (24-0 in 2015-16) have enjoyed a better start.
Evan Mobley put up 23 points and 11 rebounds and Jarrett Allen added 21 points and 15 rebounds to boost an offense that clicked on 57.1 percent shooting from the field. Georges Niang contributed 13 points off the bench.
The Cavaliers did all this without guard Donovan Mitchell (24.6 points per game), who took a rest day and was replaced by Jerome in the starting lineup. Garland provided 12 assists.
LaMelo Ball had another big point total with 31 to go with 12 assists, while Miles Bridges added 19 points for the Hornets, who’ve lost their last five road games after winning the season opener at Houston. Charlotte’s Josh Green, Brandon Miller and Grant Williams all scored 15 points.
The Hornets were lifted by making 20 shots from 3-point range, led by Ball’s five. But the Cavaliers went 27-for-28 on free throws, while Charlotte was 10-for-12 at the foul line.
Charlotte, which had a one-point victory against the Milwaukee Bucks a day earlier, took 52 of its 103 shots from the field from beyond the arc.
Mobley had been listed as questionable for the game because of illness, but he logged 34 minutes.
Charlotte used a 40-point third quarter to close within 102-99, but the Hornets never got closer in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland held a 72-59 halftime lead, shooting 66.7 percent (26-for-39) from the field. Because of that high percentage and 12-for-12 free-throw shooting, the Cavaliers secured only one offensive rebound in the half.
The Cavaliers had a double-digit lead at 18-7 about 4:10 into the game on Mobley’s 3-pointer. Cleveland made 10 of its first 12 shots from the field.
Pistons send Wizards to 8th straight loss
Jaden Ivey scored a season-high 28 points and Malik Beasley matched his season-best with 26 points, lifting the visiting Detroit Pistons to a 124-104 victory over the reeling Washington Wizards on Sunday.
Ivey sank four 3-pointers and Beasley drained six from beyond the arc to send Detroit to its sixth win in the last nine games. The Pistons also won consecutive games for just the second time this season.
Cade Cunningham collected 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth triple-double of the season for Detroit. He also had five steals. Tobias Harris recorded 12 points and nine rebounds for the Pistons, who seized control of the contest by outscoring Washington 37-26 in the third quarter.
The visitors played their second straight game without forward Tim Hardaway Jr. (head). Regardless, they shot 47.4 percent from the floor and 44.7 percent from 3-point range en route to handing the Wizards their eighth straight loss.
Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma each scored 22 points and Bilal Coulibaly added 15 for Washington, which has not tasted victory since a home-and-home sweep over the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 28-30.
Malcolm Brogdon went 0-for-4 from the floor and finished with one point in his Wizards debut after undergoing surgery on his right thumb in October. He was acquired by Washington from the Portland Trail Blazers on July 6.
The Pistons started fast out of the blocks, with Beasley, Jalen Duren and Ivey scoring baskets during a 9-0 run to give their team an early 11-3 lead. Ivey sank a 3-pointer and a floating jumper in the final minute of the first quarter to give Detroit a 28-18 advantage entering the second.
The Pistons pushed their lead to 65-53 at halftime and extended it to 83-61 midway into the third quarter after Ivey followed his 3-pointer with a three-point play. Detroit kept its foot on the gas, with Ivey converting another and-one to push his team’s advantage to 102-79 by the end of the third quarter.
Washington scored 11 of the first 13 points to begin the fourth quarter before Detroit responded with a 15-4 run to put the game out of reach. Beasley and Simone Fontecchio each drained a 3-pointer for the Pistons during that sequence.
With balanced attack, Grizzlies take down Nuggets
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 20 points and Jaylen Wells added 15 to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 105-90 victory Sunday over the visiting Denver Nuggets, who played without three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
Jokic missed his second straight game due to personal reasons. The Nuggets have lost two straight without Jokic after winning five in a row.
Julian Strawther came off the bench to score 19 points for the Nuggets, while Jamal Murray and Christian Braun had 13 each. Russell Westbrook scored 12.
Memphis — which has won four its last six — was without Ja Morant, absent since suffering a hip injury Nov. 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Another starter, Marcus Smart, missed the game because of an illness.
Desmond Bane made his first start for the Grizzlies since returning from the injured list Friday at Golden State. He had missed seven games with a strained right oblique.
On Sunday, Bane posted his fifth career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds while adding seven assists, and had two layups and an assist in a key late-game stretch after Denver cut a huge deficit to 11.
Grizzlies reserve rookie big man Zach Edey, who has been contributing at a high level off the bench, rolled his left ankle with 4:48 to go in the second quarter. He returned in the second half, but reinjured the ankle with 1:10 to go in the third and did not return.
Edey, the No. 9 overall pick in this year’s draft, finished with seven points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes.
The Grizzlies used a balanced attack in the first half to lead 55-43 at the break. Memphis relied on 31 bench points, led by Luke Kennard, who had eight points. The Grizzlies had assists on 18 of their 22 first-half field goals.
Memphis was ahead 28-25 at the end of the opening quarter and stretched its advantage to 15 with a 13-1 run to start the second period. The Grizzlies hit five 3-pointers in the second quarter, each by a different player.
To open the third, the Grizzlies scored 10 straight to extend their lead to 22 points (65-43). Memphis led by 20 (84-64) entering the fourth and survived a late rally that cut their lead to 99-88.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins tied the franchise record held by Lionel Hollins with his 214th victory.