Terry Rozier squatted down just in front of the opposing bench, having done it again in the city and venue he spent some of the most memorable days and nights of his childhood.
Rozier, who’s from Youngstown, Ohio, and grew up in Cleveland, had just swished an improbable game-tying 3-pointer that forced an extra session, aiding the Hornets’ comeback from a hefty double-digit fourth-quarter deficit. On a night they welcomed Gordon Hayward back, overcoming their shooting woes and lengthy scoring droughts, the Hornets still had an opportunity to pull one out on the road against a team that’s considered one of the Eastern Conference’s elite.
But Rozier missed a pull-up from the free-throw line at the buzzer in overtime and the Hornets unraveled in the second overtime, falling 132-122 to the Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Here are some takeaways from the Hornets’ second straight loss and 11th in their past 13 games:
Rusty Gordon
Hayward’s absence ended at eight games.
Hayward was a surprise starter after initially being categorized as doubtful leading into the morning shootaround. But afterward, he was upgraded to questionable and didn’t experience any setbacks during pregame warmups, paving the way for him to be in the lineup for the first time since going out against Chicago on Nov. 2 with left shoulder contusion.
Hayward showed signs of rust early, especially within the mid-range, but slowly got into a rhythm. He connected on 5 of 14 attempts, with two of those makes coming from 3-point range, and posted 13 points to go with seven assists and seven rebounds in 37 minutes.
Beaten up inside
Remember when Jarrett Allen didn’t make the All-Star team initially a season ago and Cleveland faced the Hornets not long after he got snubbed? Allen responded with 28 points and 22 rebounds.
There’s just something about the Hornets that brings out the best in Allen. And it was no different this time around.
Allen returned after being sidelined for two games with an illness and terrorized the Hornets, leading a frontline that beat up Charlotte inside. The Hornets were thoroughly outplayed to the tune of a 62-54 advantage by the Cavs in points in the paint.
Allen finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Frontcourt teammate Evan Mobley scored 21 points and pulled down 18 rebounds.
Rare early cameo for Kai
It’s not often Kai Jones is on the floor for meaningful minutes. Typically, whenever he’s summoned into the game the outcome is already decided.
But the second-year big man was in for mop-up duty against the Cavs.
Jones logged four minutes in the second quarter, stepping into the rotation when sixth-man Jalen McDaniels got into foul trouble and collected three in seven minutes. He had a high-flying follow up on a Mason Plumlee layup midway through the quarter that got a rise out of the Hornets’ bench and also snatched three rebounds down.
Jones’ outside shot still needs work, though. He hit nothing but glass on a 3-point attempt in the fourth quarter.
