The Cleveland Cavaliers lost 119-111 to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday in one of the most painful ways possible. They became the first NBA team since 2015 to go scoreless in an entire overtime period. No team wants to be part of history for that reason, and it shows exactly where Cleveland’s problems are right now.
When a full five-minute overtime goes by without scoring a single point, it’s a massive collapse. Right after the game, six-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell stepped up and took responsibility. According to Athlon Sports, he simply said, “Put this one on me.” When you’re the team’s star player, you have to own these kinds of failures, and Mitchell did exactly that.
This was Cleveland’s seventh home loss of the season, dropping their record to 15-12. After showing so much promise last year, this kind of inconsistency is disappointing. The game shouldn’t have even reached overtime, but Charlotte’s Brandon Miller hit a clutch three-pointer late in the fourth quarter to force the extra period.
The Cavaliers’ offense completely disappeared when it mattered most
Once overtime started, Cleveland’s offense fell apart completely. The Hornets scored eight points in the extra period, but the Cavaliers went 0-for-10 from the field. Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Jaylon Tyson each missed all three of their shot attempts. The heavy reliance on outside shooting continues to be a topic of debate, especially when three-point attempts dominate modern basketball. Even worse, they didn’t draw a single foul, which meant no free throw chances to cut into the lead.
Going 0-for-10 is a team-wide disaster, and it’s why they earned that unwanted piece of history. It’s hard to understand how an offense with this much talent could go that cold in the most important moments. The Cavaliers had every opportunity to win, but nothing fell when they needed it most.
Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel deserves credit for his performance. The former Duke player scored 29 points on 57.9% shooting and led the Hornets to victory. Cleveland had no defensive answer for him all night. Mitchell finished with 26 points and 9 assists, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Knueppel’s hot shooting. The star guard has proven doubters wrong before, including his viral 46-point revenge performance after being disrespected in NBA 2K.
The Cavaliers need to fix their problems quickly if they want to avoid falling further in the standings. Luckily, they won’t have to wait long for revenge. Cleveland and Charlotte will face each other again on December 22 at Rocket Arena, giving the Cavs a chance to erase this embarrassing loss from memory.
Published: Dec 15, 2025 05:00 pm