Monday night in the NBA delivered a little of everything: an upset in Charlotte, a star turn in Atlanta and a historic blowout in San Francisco. The short-handed Charlotte Hornets, losers of six straight games, stunned the Cleveland Cavaliers 124-112. The Los Angeles Lakers won their sixth game in a row, beating the Atlanta Hawks 124-114 behind Luka Doncic. And the Golden State Warriors crushed the New Orleans Pelicans 138-87 to become the first team in league history to start a season 0-3 and then win eight straight.
Shorthanded Hornets stun the Cavaliers
Charlotte came into the night at 3-7 and missing three rotation players, facing a Cleveland team built around James Harden, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley. For three quarters, none of that mattered. The Hornets outscored the Cavaliers 40-25 in the second quarter and 38-27 in the third, led 69-53 at halftime and pushed the lead to 33 points.
Grayson Allen scored 20 of his 27 points in the first half and finished with six assists. Naz Reid added 25 points and 13 rebounds. Charlotte, which entered the game ranked second to last in the league in 3-point shooting at 28.8 percent, made 23 of its 46 shots from deep. Tidjane Salaun scored 14 points off the bench, and Ryan Kalkbrenner pulled down 15 rebounds, 10 of them on the offensive glass, as Charlotte won the rebounding battle 49-32.
Cleveland nearly stole it back. The Cavaliers outscored Charlotte 32-17 in the fourth quarter and cut the lead to 118-110 with four minutes left. Royce O’Neale answered with a 3-pointer with about 2:40 to play, and the comeback died there. Rookie Meleek Thomas led Cleveland with 18 points off the bench, while Harden, Mitchell and Mobley combined for just 31 points. Charlotte played without Brandon Miller (hip strain), Kon Knueppel (hamstring) and Moussa Diabate (quadriceps). The win, the Hornets’ first since Oct. 26, lifted them to 4-7. Cleveland fell to 5-6.
Lakers vs Hawks: Doncic does a little of everything
One night after sitting out in Detroit with lower back tightness, Doncic returned and filled up the box score: 32 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, five steals and two blocks. He shot 11 of 22 from the field and made all seven of his free throws. His run of four straight 40-point games ended, but the Lakers’ winning streak did not.
Los Angeles won without Austin Reaves, who missed the game with an illness one day after scoring 43 points against the Pistons. The bench covered for him. Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 23 points with five 3-pointers, Walker Kessler added 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Collin Sexton had 18 points and six assists. The Lakers’ reserves scored 49 points in all.
Atlanta, which had won four straight, would not fold. The Hawks trailed 68-57 at halftime and by as many as 20 points in the first half, then cut the lead to 115-111 on a Dyson Daniels basket with 3:30 left. Doncic answered with a driving layup and an assist during a 6-0 run that closed the game out. CJ McCollum led Atlanta with 21 points off the bench, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 20. The Lakers improved to 10-2, the best record in the Western Conference, while the Hawks fell to 7-5.
Warriors bury the Pelicans by 51 and make history
Golden State led 35-20 after one quarter and 72-43 at halftime, and the rest was a formality. Stephen Curry scored 25 points in about 21 minutes, Brandin Podziemski also scored 25, and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg added 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting. The three combined for 73 points.
The 51-point margin was the fourth largest in Warriors history and their biggest win since a 157-101 rout at Portland in April 2023. More remarkable still, Golden State is the first team in NBA history to open a season with three straight losses and then win eight in a row. The win completed a perfect 6-0 homestand and moved the Warriors to 8-3.
New Orleans, playing the second night of a back-to-back, rested Zion Williamson and never threatened. Derik Queen led the Pelicans with 16 points off the bench, and the loss was the team’s third straight, dropping it to 4-7. Curry also passed DeMar DeRozan for 16th place on the NBA’s career scoring list during the game.
What comes next on Wednesday
All three winners are back in action soon. The Lakers visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, the Cavaliers head to New York to play the Knicks, and the Warriors open a five-game road trip in Houston against Kevin Durant and the Rockets. Charlotte gets one extra day to enjoy the upset before starting a four-game road trip Thursday in Phoenix. Follow every score in our Sports coverage.
Sources: Associated Press; Reuters; ESPN; USA Today.