(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH -- The Cavaliers free fall from the top of the eastern conference continued on Wednesday night when they were embarrassed by the visiting Hornets. Cleveland came out of the gates sluggish on the defensive end of the floor and were never able to recover from it, falling to Charlotte by the final score of 119-98.
Charlotte's star guard Lamelo Ball found himself in foul trouble early on into the game, as he ended up playing just 7 total minutes. Cleveland native Terry Rozier filled stepped up in place of Ball, lighting up the Cavaliers for 29 total points.
Cavaliers head coach JB Bickerstaff was tossed from the game after losing his cool following what he thought was a bad call by the referees. Darius Garland stepped in after missing games with a lingering back injury and didn't miss a step, scoring a game high 33 points.
The Cavaliers will take Thursday off before traveling to the city of Brotherly Love to square off against a good 76ers squad. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm ET at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.