Cavaliers top Hornets, 2nd best start to NBA season (15-0)

CLEVELAND — 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 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night.

The Cavs are the fourth team to start 15-0 and are tied for the second-best start to a season in NBA history, trailing only the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors (24-0). The Warriors set a league record by winning their first 24 games en route to a 73-9 season.

The 2015-16 Warriors, 1993-94 Houston Rockets (started 15-0) and 1948-49 Washington Capitols (15-0) all reached the NBA Finals.

Evan Mobley had 23 points and 11 rebounds and Jarrett Allen had 21 points and 15 rebounds for Cleveland, marking the second time the Cavaliers have had four 20-point scorers in consecutive games in franchise history and the first time since 1972.

The Cavs also extended the longest winning streak in team history and have given Cleveland sports fans something to be excited about in the midst of a football season that crashed long ago for the Browns.

“It’s unbelievable,” Allen said of how the city is embracing the Cavs. “Everybody shows tons of energy, all over the city. It’s amazing how Cleveland has adopted us. They come to every game and shout for everything. The city of Cleveland has our backs.”

Although they wanted to keep their winning streak alive, the Cavs felt it was more important to rest Mitchell. It’s a long season with big games ahead, and first-year coach Kenny Atkinson, who has yet to lose with Cleveland, said sticking to the plan with Mitchell was a priority.

The Cavaliers barely missed a beat without Mitchell, who was coming off a season-high 37-point performance. One of the many pluses during the winning streak is that it gives Atkinson the opportunity to further develop his bench.

As has been the case in nearly every game, the Cavs got positive minutes and moments from everyone Atkinson put on the floor. They also overcame some adversity as both Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade were forced off in the second half with ankle injuries. Wade, who has made seven starts, left the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in a walking boot.

The Cavaliers will put their perfect start on Tuesday against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

“Boston Garden,” Atkinson said. “What’s better than that?”

As November NBA games go, not much.

It is the fourth time in NBA history that a team with a 15-over 15-game winning streak has met the defending NBA champion, and the first time since the Chicago Bulls met the Rockets in 1996. One of those instances came in 1972 when the Los Angeles Lakers saw their NBA record 33 game streak end against the Milwaukee Bucks.

“It’s great for the NBA, right?” said Atkinson, the only coach to win his first 15 games with a new team. “Everybody’s going to be watching and I know our guys are anxious. I know they remember last year. We’re going well. They’re going well. It’s great for the league. Great for our franchise. We’re excited . “

Mitchell did not play in the final two games of last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals as the Cavs were eliminated in five games by the Celtics, who went on to win another championship.

Allen missed the entire Boston series with a broken rib and said he and his teammates are looking forward to seeing how they stack up against the Celtics now.

“It’s a rematch,” Allen said. “I know they didn’t have any players. And we didn’t have me, so I’ll try to beat them and test where we are with them.”

Atkinson feels the same way. If the Cavs have title aspirations, this is a chance for them to see if they are real.

“It will be a big test for us,” he said. “Obviously they play a different style, five-out with five shooters, so it’s going to be a really good test for us. We’re at that point right now – 15-0, and let’s test ourselves against the best and see where we stand and see where we need to make adjustments or not make adjustments.

“It actually comes at the perfect time.”

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.