Cavs beat Hornets in a nail-biter. What to take away from the Hornets’ loss
About 24 hours before the start of the Hornets-Cavaliers’ game on Friday, the NBA announced the final batch of players who made the 2022 NBA All-Star team.
A number of players were snubbed, including the Hornets’ LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges.
Hornets coach James Borrego said while he was disappointed his players didn’t make it, he hoped they would use it as motivation.
But it was a player on the opposing team who played like he had something to prove. Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen dominated the Hornets, dealing them their third consecutive loss.
The game was not without drama or controversy. After trailing by six points with 2:01 remaining, the Hornets made some key defensive stops, and P.J. Washington and Kelly Oubre hit back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers, which helped give the Hornets a 3-point lead with 46.2 seconds remaining.
However, the Cavaliers had the final say. Trailing by one point with 1.2 seconds left, power forward Kevin Love hit two free throws to win it for the Cavs 102-101.
“It ain’t too much I can say,” said Hornets guard Terry Rozier, who finished with a team-high 24 points. “This game is about wins and losses and we lost.”
Ball finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists, but also had five fouls and did not play for much of the fourth quarter.
Here are four takeaways from Friday’s game:
Controversial non-call
Late in the game, the referees missed a potential foul that would have gone in the Hornets’ favor.
As Rozier’s missed 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds left came off the rim, Cavs small forward Isaac Okoro was battling with Gordon Hayward in the paint and grabbed him with both hands, pulling him away from the ball.
A foul should have been called in that instance but was not. At the time, the Hornets led 101-100.
“I got fouled, they didn’t call it,” Hayward said. “He definitely grabbed me. It is what it is.”
When asked whether he felt he could have grabbed the rebound had he not been held, Hayward said, “Oh yeah.”
“Those things happen, but it’s a tough one,” he said.
That play could have changed the outcome of the game in the Hornets favor.
Instead of a foul being called, the Cavs grabbed the rebound, and seconds later Love scored the game-winning free throws.
Gordon Hayward back, but ...
The Hornets are a better offensive team when Hayward is healthy and on the floor, averaging six more points per game.
Entering Friday’s game, the Hornets were 50-39 with him in the lineup, and 11-24 without him.
But Hayward was clearly rusty in his first game back in two weeks. Hayward had missed the past six games, including four because of COVID protocols.
He finished with seven points on 3-of-13 shooting. He also added five rebounds and three steals.
“My body felt pretty good,” Hayward said. “Obviously, my wind and my legs got tired there. But for me, my foot felt good, which is a good sign. Just trying to find my rhythm.
“I’ll shoot it better, I’m not worried about that.”
Hayward is averaging 17 points per game this season. They’ll need that from him to compete with the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
Spurts of bad defense
There were moments in Friday’s game when the Hornets were just bad defensively. They had trouble staying in front of the Cavaliers’ guards, without All-Star Darius Garland.
That led to the Hornets’ defenders having to help, which led to many open 3s.
The Cavs made 14 of 35 3-pointers. The Hornets were fortunate the Cavs didn’t make more.
The Hornets were outscored 30-15 in the second quarter, and trailed for the entire second half.
The Cavs ended the first half on a 25-9 run. The run was aided by some silly turnovers by Ball, but bad defense in the second and third quarters was at the forefront of the Hornets’ struggles. They trailed by as many as 17 points.
“I am proud of their effort to get back in it,” Borrego said. “They kept battling and we gave ourselves a shot to win that game.”
No answer for Jarrett Allen
The Cavs’ big man, who was also snubbed from the All-Star Game, was dominant Friday.
The Hornets had no answer for Allen, who dominated in the paint and on the glass. He finished with 29 points and 22 rebounds.
His “And-1” dunk with 2:01 remaining gave the Cavaliers a six-point lead. And though that lead wasn’t big enough, it put pressure on the Hornets.
Allen kept possessions alive and gave the Cavs second chances from his 11 offensive rebounds. Hornets big man Mason Plumlee could not stop him. Neither could anyone else.
“Credit to Jarrett Allen, man,” Oubre said. “He’s a talent. He put up (NBA) 2K numbers tonight.”
The Hornets are going to see more talented bigs over their next couple of games, including Miami’s Bam Adebayo on Saturday night, and will need to play better team defense.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 9:32 PM.
