NBA 2026: Cleveland Cavaliers Defeat Charlotte Hornets 118-113, Denver Nuggets Top Portland Trail Blazers 157-103

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, which has lost three of four following a nine-game winning streak.

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 outscored the Hornets 50-28 in the paint.

Nuggets set road franchise scoring record

Nikola Jokic had 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 29 1/2 minutes and the Denver Nuggets routed the Portland Trail Blazers 157-103 for the most points on the road in franchise history and the most in an NBA game this season.

Jamal Murray added 25 points a night after missing the third of three free throws with 0.9 seconds left in a 115-114 loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles. Julian Strawther and Tim Hardaway Jr. each had 19 points.

Denver led 82-53 at the half, going 13 for 22 from the 3-point range and pushed the lead to 55 in the second half.

Jrue Holiday led Portland with 19 points and Deni Avdija had 15 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds, but also had six turnovers.

Doncic, Reaves lead Lakers

Luka Doncic had 38 points and 11 assists, Austin Reaves added 29 points and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Los Angeles Clippers down the stretch for a 125-122 victory.

LeBron James had 13 points and 11 assists for the Lakers in their return from the All-Star break. They blew a 15-point lead in the second half, but Doncic scored 12 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers split the four-game season series with their crosstown rivals.

Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points before missing the final 5:10 with an apparent ankle injury for the Clippers (27-29), who fell just short of getting back to .500 in incredible fashion after their 6-21 start to the season.

Bennedict Mathurin had 26 points and seven rebounds in his second straight outstanding game for his new team before fouling out with 1:49 to play. The athletic guard acquired from Indiana for center Ivica Zubac dropped a career-high-tying 38 against Denver on Thursday.

Derrick Jones Jr. scored on consecutive possessions to trim the Lakers' lead to 123-120 with 46 seconds left. Nicolas Batum then stole James' pass in the final seconds, but the Frenchman missed a tying 3-point attempt with 4 seconds left.