NBA: Hornets pitch OT shutout to top Cavaliers

Kon Knueppel scored 29 points and Brandon Miller added 25 points and a career-high 13 rebounds as the visiting Charlotte Hornets shut out the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime for a 119-111 victory on Sunday.

Cleveland became the 12th team in NBA history to be held scoreless in an overtime period, the first since the Chicago Bulls blanked the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 7, 2015.

Miles Bridges finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Charlotte, which overcame a blown 17-point second-half lead. The Hornets snapped a recent skid, winning for just the second time in their last six games, and are 6-17 since Oct. 28.

Darius Garland scored a season-high 26 points to lead Cleveland, while Donovan Mitchell had 17 points on 6-of-24 shooting. Jaylon Tyson added 16 points and a career-best 13 rebounds off the bench as the Cavaliers lost for the sixth time in nine games.

Mitchell missed a jumper from the right wing at the buzzer in regulation, sending the game to overtime tied at 111. Tyson had scored four straight points to give Cleveland a 111-108 lead before Miller knocked down the tying 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining.

Miller opened the overtime period by making two free throws, and that was all the offense Charlotte needed. The Cavaliers missed all 10 of their field-goal attempts in the extra session, with Garland and Mitchell accounting for six of those misses.

Charlotte nearly pulled away early in the third quarter, extending its lead to 78-61 on Knueppel’s third 3-pointer. Cleveland rallied and took a 99-98 lead on a Dean Wade 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter, setting up a tight finish.

Knueppel, the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, shot 11-of-19 from the field while logging 44 minutes. Hornets point guard Sion James contributed nine points and seven rebounds, and Miller also handed out six assists.

Cleveland center Jarrett Allen returned after missing six games with a strained right third finger and recorded nine points and three rebounds. Wade finished with 14 points and eight rebounds while starting in place of injured power forward Evan Mobley.

Mobley, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, is expected to miss two to four weeks with a strained left calf sustained Friday against the Washington Wizards. He is averaging 19.1 points and 9.3 rebounds in a team-high 25 games this season.

Charlotte was short-handed, playing without five rotation players: guards LaMelo Ball (left ankle bruise), Collin Sexton (left quadriceps strain) and Tre Mann (right knee bruise), center Grant Williams (right knee surgery), and forward Pat Connaughton (right calf strain).

Hornets coach Charles Lee said Ball, Sexton and Mann will be re-evaluated Monday in Charlotte. -Field Level Media/Reuters