CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- — Donovan Mitchell scored 13 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter and the streaking Cleveland Cavaliers held off the Charlotte Hornets 118-113 on Friday night for their seventh straight victory and 12th win in 13 games.

Jared Allen had 25 points and 14 rebounds and James Harden added 18 points and eight assists for the Cavaliers.

Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel finished with 33 points on seven 3-pointers, giving him 193 made 3s for the season — the second most in NBA history by a rookie. Keegan Murray holds the record with 206 set in the 2022-23 season.

LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller each had 18 points and rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner added 12 points and 13 rebounds for Charlotte.

Miller's and-one layup off a no-look feed from Ball cut Cleveland's lead to four with a minute remaining, but Mitchell made a short jumper and four free throws in the final 40 seconds to seal the win.

The Cavaliers built a 14-point lead in the second quarter and looked like they were preparing to break the game open, but Knueppel began to heat up, finishing with four 3s and 16 points in the first half to cut Cleveland's lead in to six. Charlotte took the lead late in the third quarter behind three more Knueppel 3s.

But Mitchell began to take over with his physical play. He got to the line 13 times and made 12 free throws.

Charlotte played without suspended forwards Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate and Grant Williams, who sat out with knee injury management forcing them to play younger, less experienced players in the frontcourt.

The Cavaliers outscored the Hornets 50-28 in the paint.

The Hornets have now lost three of their last four games after winning nine straight games just before the All-Star break.

Up next

Cavaliers: At Oklahoma City on Sunday.

Hornets: At Washington on Sunday night.

------

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Jarrett Allen vs. Ryan Kalkbrenner (Dean Wade gains possession)	0	0
11:45	Jarrett Allen makes 17-foot jumper (Sam Merrill assists)	0	2
11:28	Kon Knueppel misses 12-foot pullup jump shot	0	2
11:24	Sion James offensive rebound	0	2
11:23	Brandon Miller makes 25-foot three point jumper (Sion James assists)	3	2
11:14	Ryan Kalkbrenner shooting foul	3	2
11:14	Jarrett Allen makes free throw 1 of 2	3	3
11:14	Jarrett Allen makes free throw 2 of 2	3	4
10:51	Brandon Miller makes 23-foot three point jumper (Sion James assists)	6	4
10:37	Brandon Miller shooting foul	6	4
10:37	Donovan Mitchell misses free throw 1 of 2	6	4
10:37	Cavaliers offensive team rebound	6	4
10:37	Donovan Mitchell makes free throw 2 of 2	6	5
10:23	Brandon Miller lost ball turnover (Donovan Mitchell steals)	6	5
10:17	Jarrett Allen makes 1-foot dunk (Donovan Mitchell assists)	6	7
10:07	Ryan Kalkbrenner makes 1-foot dunk (Brandon Miller assists)	8	7
9:50	Sam Merrill makes 1-foot layup (Jarrett Allen assists)	8	9
9:31	Donovan Mitchell shooting foul	8	9
9:31	LaMelo Ball makes free throw 1 of 2	9	9
9:31	LaMelo Ball makes free throw 2 of 2	10	9
9:15	Sion James blocks Jarrett Allen 's 3-foot layup	10	9
9:11	Jarrett Allen offensive rebound	10	9
9:11	Jarrett Allen makes layup	10	11
8:49	Brandon Miller misses 7-foot turnaround jump shot	10	11
8:47	Sam Merrill defensive rebound	10	11
8:36	Sam Merrill misses 28-foot three point jumper	10	11
8:34	Kon Knueppel defensive rebound	10	11
8:25	Brandon Miller misses 23-foot three point jumper	10	11
8:21	Kon Knueppel offensive rebound	10	11
8:16	Kon Knueppel makes 25-foot three point jumper (LaMelo Ball assists)	13	11
8:08	Kon Knueppel personal foul	13	11
8:02	Jarrett Allen misses driving layup	13	11
8:00	Ryan Kalkbrenner defensive rebound	13	11
7:38	Brandon Miller misses 13-foot pullup jump shot	13	11
7:35	Dean Wade defensive rebound	13	11
7:27	Donovan Mitchell misses 18-foot pullup jump shot	13	11
7:23	Sion James defensive rebound	13	11
7:14	Sam Merrill shooting foul	13	11
7:14	LaMelo Ball makes free throw 1 of 2	14	11
7:14	Josh Green enters the game for Brandon Miller	14	11
7:14	Dennis Schroder enters the game for Donovan Mitchell	14	11
7:14	LaMelo Ball makes free throw 2 of 2	15	11
7:02	James Harden makes 26-foot three pointer	15	14
6:37	Kon Knueppel misses 24-foot three point pullup jump shot	15	14
6:34	Sion James offensive rebound	15	14
6:32	LaMelo Ball misses 25-foot three point jumper	15	14
6:29	James Harden defensive rebound	15	14
6:20	James Harden misses 16-foot pullup jump shot	15	14
6:18	Sion James defensive rebound	15	14
6:06	LaMelo Ball misses driving layup	15	14
6:03	LaMelo Ball offensive rebound	15	14
6:03	LaMelo Ball misses tip shot	15	14
6:02	Jarrett Allen defensive rebound	15	14
5:54	Jarrett Allen traveling turnover	15	14
5:54	Hornets Full timeout	15	14
5:54	Brandon Miller enters the game for LaMelo Ball	15	14
5:54	PJ Hall enters the game for Sion James	15	14
5:54	Tre Mann enters the game for Ryan Kalkbrenner	15	14
5:54	Jaylon Tyson enters the game for Dean Wade	15	14
5:33	PJ Hall makes 4-foot floating jump shot (Josh Green assists)	17	14
5:19	Jaylon Tyson misses 23-foot three point jumper	17	14
5:17	Cavaliers offensive team rebound	17	14
5:17	Keon Ellis enters the game for Sam Merrill	17	14
5:13	Kon Knueppel shooting foul	17	14
5:13	James Harden makes free throw 1 of 2	17	15
5:13	Pat Connaughton enters the game for Kon Knueppel	17	15
5:13	James Harden makes free throw 2 of 2	17	16
4:53	PJ Hall back court turnover	17	16
4:38	Jarrett Allen makes 6-foot hook shot (Keon Ellis assists)	17	18
4:38	Tre Mann shooting foul	17	18
4:38	Jarrett Allen makes free throw 1 of 1	17	19
4:29	Sion James enters the game for Tre Mann	17	19
4:25	Brandon Miller misses 23-foot three point jumper	17	19
4:23	Jarrett Allen defensive rebound	17	19
4:17	Dennis Schroder makes 14-foot pullup jump shot	17	21
3:56	Brandon Miller out of bounds bad pass turnover	17	21
3:56	Thomas Bryant enters the game for James Harden	17	21
3:56	Donovan Mitchell enters the game for Jarrett Allen	17	21
3:42	Donovan Mitchell makes driving layup (Dennis Schroder assists)	17	23
3:26	Brandon Miller misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	17	23
3:23	Josh Green offensive rebound	17	23
3:21	Josh Green makes 22-foot three point jumper (Brandon Miller assists)	20	23
3:09	Jaylon Tyson out of bounds lost ball turnover	20	23
2:51	Thomas Bryant blocks Brandon Miller 's 4-foot driving layup	20	23
2:49	Keon Ellis defensive rebound	20	23
2:39	Thomas Bryant makes 10-foot hook shot (Dennis Schroder assists)	20	25
2:12	Pat Connaughton bad pass turnover (Donovan Mitchell steals)	20	25
2:09	Donovan Mitchell bad pass turnover (Sion James steals)	20	25
2:05	Josh Green misses 25-foot three point jumper	20	25
2:02	Jaylon Tyson defensive rebound	20	25
2:00	Dennis Schroder bad pass turnover (Josh Green steals)	20	25
1:52	Cavaliers Full timeout	20	25
1:52	Antonio Reeves enters the game for Josh Green	20	25
1:41	Brandon Miller lost ball turnover (Keon Ellis steals)	20	25
1:34	Sion James shooting foul	20	25
1:34	Donovan Mitchell makes free throw 1 of 3	20	26
1:34	Donovan Mitchell makes free throw 2 of 3	20	27
1:34	Donovan Mitchell makes free throw 3 of 3	20	28
1:13	Brandon Miller bad pass turnover (Dennis Schroder steals)	20	28
1:09	Donovan Mitchell bad pass turnover (Sion James steals)	20	28
1:02	Antonio Reeves misses 23-foot three point jumper	20	28
57.8	Cavaliers defensive team rebound	20	28
57.8	Brandon Miller loose ball foul	20	28
57.8	Donovan Mitchell makes free throw 1 of 2	20	29
57.8	Tidjane Salaun enters the game for Sion James	20	29
57.8	Tre Mann enters the game for Brandon Miller	20	29
57.8	Donovan Mitchell makes free throw 2 of 2	20	30
36.9	Tidjane Salaun misses 25-foot three point jumper	20	30
33.5	Keon Ellis defensive rebound	20	30
24.7	Donovan Mitchell misses 16-foot pullup jump shot	20	30
22.1	PJ Hall defensive rebound	20	30
0.0	Antonio Reeves misses 11-foot pullup jump shot	20	30
0.0	PJ Hall offensive rebound	20	30
0.0	PJ Hall misses 1-foot tip shot	20	30
0.0	Hornets offensive team rebound	20	30
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	20	30

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Spectrum Center

Charlotte, NC

Date & Time

12:00 AM, February 21, 2026

Coverage

FanDuel SN OH, FanDuel SN SE, NBA League Pass

Attendance

19,691

Referees

Brent Barnaky, Marat Kogut, Tyler Ricks

2025-26 Central Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Detroit	45	16	.738	L2
Cleveland	39	24	.619	W2
Milwaukee	26	35	.426	L4
Chicago	26	37	.413	W1
Indiana	15	48	.238	L8

2025-26 Southeast Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Miami	35	29	.547	W4
Orlando	33	28	.541	W2
Atlanta	32	31	.508	W5
Charlotte	32	32	.500	L1
Washington	16	46	.258	L7

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Donovan Mitchell scores 32 points as Cavaliers beat Hornets 118-113 for 7th straight victory

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