The Cleveland Cavaliers, playing without top scorer Donovan Mitchell, matched the second-best start to a season in NBA history on Sunday, reaching 15-0 with a 128-114 victory over Charlotte.
Mitchell took the night off to rest after averaging 24.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists for the Cavs during their perfect run.
The host Cavaliers, however, made up for his absence with a balanced attack as Darius Garland had 25 points and 12 assists, Ty Jerome added 24 points, Evan Mobley scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Jarrett Allen contributed 21 points and 15 rebounds.
“We’ve always got some fight in us no matter what,” Garland said. “Everybody is ready to play. It doesn’t matter, one through 15.
“Everybody contributed. Everybody had a huge part in this win. That’s just us. Just as a team effort.”
Under new coach Kenny Atkinson, the Cavaliers had become the sixth team in NBA history to start 14-0.
Beating the Hornets made them only the fourth team in NBA history to open 15-0, matching the 1948-49 Washington Capitols and 1993-94 Houston Rockets for the second-best start.
They now trail only the record 24-0 start by the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors.
The win streak is already the longest in the Cavaliers’ 55-year history, eclipsing three 13-win runs when LeBron James was with Cleveland.
Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball had 31 points and 12 assists in a losing cause.
At Oklahoma City, Dallas forward P.J. Washington scored 27 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the Mavericks, playing without injured guard Luka Doncic, over the host Thunder 121-119.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 36 points. He made a 3-pointer, stole the ball from Kyrie Irving late and hit a free throw but missed another and Luguentz Dort missed a 3-point shot for the win at the buzzer.
Randle hits late winner
Minnesota’s Julius Randle sank a 25-foot 3-pointer at the final buzzer to give the host Timberwolves a 120-117 victory over Phoenix.
Anthony Edwards sank two game-tying free throws with 46 seconds remaining to set the stage for Randle’s dramatic deciding shot, which produced the last of his 35 points while Edwards finished with 24.
Devin Booker led the Suns with a game-high 44 points.
Detroit’s Cade Cunningham had a triple double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to spark the Pistons over host Washington 124-104. Jaden Ivey had 28 points and Mailk Beasley 26 for Detroit.
Denver’s Nikola Jokic, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, was out again for personal reasons in the Nuggets’ 105-90 loss at Memphis. Jaren Jackson led the Grizzlies with 20 points. Reserve Julian Strawther led Denver with 19.
At Indianapolis, Myles Turner scored a season-high 34 points to lead the Indiana Pacers over Miami 119-110. Tyler Herro scored 28 to lead the Heat.
Portland’s Shaedon Sharpe stole the ball from Atlanta’s Trae Young and sank two clinching free throws, the last of his game-high 32 points, with one second remaining to seal the host Trail Blazers’ 114-109 triumph. Young led the Hawks with 29 points.
Turkish center Alperen Sengun had a triple double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists and Fred VanVleet scored 28 points to lead Houston’s 143-107 victory at Chicago.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 15 rebounds to lead the New York Knicks over visiting Brooklyn 114-104.
The Los Angeles Clippers defeated visiting Utah 116-105 as James Harden rose to second on the all-time NBA 3-pointer list by hitting his 2,974th in the first quarter. Ivica Zubac had 22 points to lead the Clippers while Harden added 20 points and 11 assists.
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