Evan Mobley almost single-handedly helped the Cleveland Cavaliers maintain the best record in the NBA on Saturday.
The fourth-year forward scored a career-high 41 points shooting 6-for-8 on 3-pointers with 10 rebounds and three blocks in the Cavs’ 116-102 road win over the Charlotte Hornets.
With their fourth consecutive win, the Cavaliers improved to 21-3, 1.5 games ahead of the Boston Celtics (19-4) for the NBA’s top record.
Mobley’s previous career best was 38, set in January 2023 versus the Milwaukee Bucks. (Interestingly, he didn’t hit any 3-pointers in that game, shooting 0-for-2.) And the most 3s he’d previously made in a game was three. He surpassed that in the first quarter versus Charlotte, connecting on five shots from long range.
The scoring barrage began in the first quarter with Mobley scoring 23 points, tied for the third-most in an opening frame by a Cavs player in team history. (Kevin Love scored 34 versus Portland in 2016, while LeBron James tallied 24 in 2008 against the Chicago Bulls.)
Mobley outscored the Hornets by himself in the first quarter as Cleveland ran out to a 40-18 lead in the opening 12 minutes.
Mobley’s achievement was also notable because of his age. At 23, he’s one of two players to record 40+ points, 10+ rebounds, 3+ blocks and 5+ 3-pointers in a game while under the age of 25. The only other NBA player to do that is Kevin Durant, according to StatMuse.
Durant accomplished that feat in a Dec. 8, 2008 game when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder playing the Golden State Warriors. He taillied 41 points. 10 rebounds and three blocks, while shooting 6-for-10 on 3s.
The Hornets are wiped out by injuries in their frontcourt, and that was glaringly exposed by Mobley. Mark Williams returned to the lineup earlier this week and scored 12 points on Saturday. But Miles Bridges (bone bruise), Moussa Diabaté (illness), Tidjane Salaün (sprained ankle) and Nick Richards (sprained ankle) all missed Saturday’s game. Grant Williams is out for the season with a torn ACL.
Charlotte was also without leading scorer LaMelo Ball, who’s sidelined with a left calf strain. At 6-16, the Hornets have the second-worst record in the East.
Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland each scored 18 for Cleveland. Mitchell also grabbed eight rebounds, while Jarrett Allen got 10 boards. Brandon Miller led Charlotte with 25 points.
The Celtics host the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night. Cleveland travels to face the Miami Heat (10-10) on Sunday.