Darius Garland (10) of the Cleveland Cavaliers lays down a shot as Josh Green, right, of the Charlotte Hornets defends and Brandon Miller (24) of the Hornets looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Cleveland, Sunday, November 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Editor

CLEVELAND (AP) — Darius Garland scored 25 points, Ty Jerome matched his career high with 24 in place of Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers remained undefeated with a 128-114 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night .

The Cavs are the fourth team to start 15-0, joining the Golden State Warriors (2016), Houston Rockets (1994) and Washington Capitols (1949). The Warriors set the league record by winning their first 24 games en route to a 73-9 season.

Evan Mobley had 23 points and 11 rebounds and Jarrett Allen 21 and 15 rebounds for Cleveland, which plays defending champion Boston on Tuesday.

Even though they wanted to keep their winning streak alive, the Cavs felt resting Mitchell was more important. It’s a long season with bigger games coming up, and first-year coach Kenny Atkinson, who has yet to lose with Cleveland, said sticking to the plan with Mitchell is a priority.

LaMelo Ball had 31 points and 12 assists and Miles Bridges scored 19 for the Hornets.

Earlier, Ball was fined $100,000 by the NBA for “an offensive and derogatory comment” during an interview after Saturday’s victory in Milwaukee.

Takeaways

Hornets: They showed fighting spirit on the second night of a row, but were unable to get a stop down the stretch.

Cavaliers: Barely missed a beat without Mitchell, who was coming off a season-high 37-point performance. One of the many benefits of this winning streak is that it allows Atkinson to further develop his bench.

Key moment

With Charlotte still trailing, Garland fed it to Jerome for a 3-pointer — and his 12th assist — from the corner with 2:45 left.

Key statistics

Cleveland shot 67% (26 of 39) in the first half. … Jerome tied a career high with eight assists.

To be continued

Charlotte travels to Brooklyn on Tuesday for an NBA Cup game, the same day the Cavaliers play the Celtics.

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