Cleveland Cavaliers beat Charlotte Hornets to improve to 15-0 in NBA

By Can Erozden

The Cleveland Cavaliers are spending a dream season in the NBA as the Eastern Conference leaders have improved to 15-0 after a 128-114 win against the Charlotte Hornets in Ohio on Sunday night.

Darius Garland, a Cavaliers guard, scored 25 points to help his team earn a home victory at Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Garland had also 12 assists.

The victors were balanced in scoring as Ty Jerome, who plays as a guard for the Cavaliers, racked up 24 points.

Evan Mobley had 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to post a double-double and his Cavaliers teammate Jarrett Allen had 21 points and took 15 rebounds for the winners.

The Hornets, which lost at Cleveland, were led by LaMelo Ball as the 23-year-old point guard scored a game-high 31 points for the visitors, and made 12 assists as well.

Miles Bridges had 19 points for the Hornets.

Charlotte trio Josh Green, Grant Williams and Brandon Miller scored 15 points each on Sunday night.

Unbeaten in the 2024-25 NBA regular season, the Cavaliers will visit defending champions Boston Celtics in a Tuesday Emirates NBA Cup group game at the TD Garden.

The Cavaliers, which won their opening 15 games, became the fourth NBA team to do so in the league's history. The Cavs joined the Golden State Warriors (2016), Houston Rockets (1994) and Washington Capitols (1949).

The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, which were led by Splash Brothers – Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson at that time – still own the NBA's record start. The Warriors had a 24-0 win/loss record in that season until they were halted by the Milwaukee Bucks in Dec. 2015.

The Warriors, which finished the regular season with 73 wins and 9 losses in 2016, were defeated in the NBA Finals by LeBron James-led Cavaliers 4-3.

All these three franchises have reached the NBA Finals, but the Rockets, who went 58-24 in the regular season, were the only team to win the title in 1994.