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Hornets Roar Back In 4th Quarter, Beat Cavs To Finish Season Again

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Hornets Roar Back In 4th Quarter, Beat Cavs To Finish Season Again


For the second consecutive year, the Charlotte Hornets closed out their regular season schedule with a double-digit comeback victory in Cleveland on a Sunday afternoon. And though it was another tough injury-plagued campaign, the 120-110 win, at the very least, allowed Head Coach Steve Clifford to end his NBA coaching career on a positive note.

Things weren’t quite as positive for the Cavaliers, who missed out on a chance to clinch a top-three Eastern Conference seed, which sealed a first-round date with the fifth-seeded Orlando Magic in the 4-5 matchup. Charlotte, which played almost entirely reserves, closed the year with wins in three of its final six outings, all of which came against postseason-bound teams.

Cleveland used a 14-0 run and some airtight interior defense to take a 33-24 lead through the opening 12 minutes. The Hornets kept moving the ball and ran just about every chance they got in the second, winning the frame by eight to enter halftime down one. With the East’s second or third seed still very much in play, Cleveland kept its foot on the gas and knocked down 6-of-7 third-quarter 3-point attempts to retake an eight-point advantage with 12 minutes to go.

Down 13 at the 10:09 mark of the fourth following a rare 3-pointer from Cleveland center Damian Jones, Charlotte launched a quick 12-3 run to get back within four. An Isaiah Mobley layup briefly curbed the Hornets’ momentum, which immediately resurfaced with a game-ending 18-2 surge over the final six-and-a-half minutes of play. The visitors forced seven turnovers for 11 ensuing points in the closing quarter, which they won decisively, 32-14 (fewest fourth-quarter points allowed by the Hornets since giving up 13 in Denver on Dec. 23, 2021). 

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“I thought those guys had a good attitude,” said Clifford following the win. “One o’clock starts are also always different. Last game of the year, but they put a lot into it, and I was happy for them. These last 25, 30 games, we’re out of it (playoffs) and we had a really difficult schedule. I’m really proud of all of them. They hung in there, the attitude they had, we kept getting better, we practiced well, and we played some good games.”

Nick Smith Jr. (24; career-best 6-of-11 from 3-point range), JT Thor (20; career-high nine rebounds), Marques Bolden (14; career-high four blocks), and Amari Bailey (11) all established new career-high points totals, with Leaky Black (11) tying his. Bryce McGowens had a season-high 18 points, with Tre Mann (11) making it seven Hornet players in double figures. Charlotte shot 50.5%, 47.5% from 3-point range (19-of-40) and dished out a season-high 36 assists.

Said Thor, “I came in thinking we’ve got everything to play for even though we’re not in the playoffs. Young guys got a lot of opportunity today and that’s all that mattered. Coach Clifford has taught us how to be a pro. He refers a lot to the older days and how those guys worked throughout the season. He said the same thing to us before the game and we got the dub.”

Cleveland lost the season series with the Hornets for the first time since 2018-19. Max Strus notched his first-ever NBA triple-double, finishing with 14 points – 4-of-6 from 3-point range – 10 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists before checking out midway through the fourth. Georges Niang had a team-high 16 points off the bench, with big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen also scoring 14 for the Cavaliers, who have now dropped three of four with Charlotte.



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’27 DE Munir Lewis Commits to Louisville

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’27 DE Munir Lewis Commits to Louisville


LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Make that a trio of commitment in the Class of 2027 this week for the Louisville football program.

Cleveland (Oh.) Brush defensive end Munir Lewis announced Wednesday that he has committed to the Cardinals. He’s the third commit in the last four days for UofL, Bradenton (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney defensive lineman Kaleb Exume committing on Sunday and Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day two-way athlete Brooklyn Maxey doing so on Monday.

Lewis chose Louisville out of a top seven that also consisted of Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Purdue. He also held offers from Cincinnati, Minnesota, Wisconsin plus several others, and made multiple visits to UofL’s campus – including this past Friday for the spring game. He’s set to return for an official visit this May.

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The 6-foot-5, 245-pound defensive end is regarded as the 23rd-ranked prospect in the state of Ohio, the No. 50 edge rusher in the Class of 2027, and the No. 592 recruit in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite.

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Lewis was an explosive force for Brush as a junior this past season. He collected 55 total tackles, 13.5 for loss, nine sacks, four pass breakup, a forced fumbles and over 20 quarterback pressures. He helped Brush finish the 2025 season with a 6-4 record.

Lewis is the 12th commitment in Louisville’s 2027 recruiting class, which is on pace to be the best in school history. he joins a class that not only ranks as the best class in the ACC, but the No. 8 class in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite. Four of their commitments are regarded as four-star prospects by the composite.

He’s also the latest in a budding pipeline to the state of Ohio, which has been championed by Executive Director of Football Personnel and Recruiting Vince Marrow. Five of Louisville’s 12 commitments in the 2027 cycle are from the Buckeye State, with three hailing from the Cincinnati area and the other two coming from Cleveland.

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American Cornhole League Cleveland Signature Open | April 24, 2026 | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

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American Cornhole League Cleveland Signature Open  | April 24, 2026 | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission


Anyone Can Play, Anyone Can Win
American Cornhole League is bringing the heat to the boards in Cleveland with $150,000 on the line. Join us on April 24-26, 2026, for elite competition where amateurs and pros collide. Whether you’re a backyard ringer or a seasoned veteran, this is your chance to…



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Houston Astros at Cleveland Guardians prediction, pick for Tuesday 4/21/26

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Houston Astros at Cleveland Guardians prediction, pick for Tuesday 4/21/26


Garion Thorne gives you a preview, prediction and pick for tonight’s game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians.

Few teams needed a win last night more than the Astros.

Houston came into Monday’s action having lost 12 of its past 14 games, while also having lost nearly as many pitchers — at least it feels that way. Just take a quick glance at this club’s IL. Hunter Brown (shoulder), Tatsuya Imai (fatigue), Cristian Javier (shoulder). Those aren’t losses that are easy to survive, and the Astros have understandably been struggling. However, after a dominating 9-2 victory, Houston can at least take a small breath.

Can the Astros make it two in a row this evening? Or will the Guardians bounce back? Let’s preview this AL clash and make a couple picks on the DraftKings Sportsbook.

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Astros vs. Guardians prediction, preview

So, remember that list of injured Astros pitchers I just recited? The consequence of the length of that list, is that you have to start people like Ryan Weiss. That’s not to suggest that Weiss is completely without promise — he was a stud in the KBO in 2024 and 2025 — it’s just that the right-hander’s MLB career has gotten off to a slightly rocky start, and it’s clear that Houston currently prefers the 29-year-old as a reliever. In 14.2 innings of work, Weiss has racked up 18 strikeouts, but he’s also surrendered four home runs, 11 earned runs, and a sixth percentile opponent hard hit rate (54.5%). Weiss isn’t quite built up to be a starter, either. Well, at least not fully, as he threw a season-high 76 pitches in his last outing. That means we’re probably going to have to see a lot of the Astros’ bullpen on Tuesday, which is not a good thing. Houston’s RPs rank 29th in ERA (5.66) and they’ve served up a league-high 1.89 opponent home runs per nine. Yikes.

On the other side of this pitching matchup, we find another starter with little major league experience. That said, Parker Messick already looks like another developmental success story of the Guardians’ pitcher factory. The former second-round pick debuted in 2025, maintaining a 2.72 ERA and a 2.98 FIP across seven starts. If possible, Messick’s looked even better so far in 2026, allowing a mere three earned runs over 25.2 innings. Now, a .200 BABIP isn’t going to sustain. Neither is a 91.4% strand rate. However, when you’re limiting opponents to a 3.3% barrel rate and a 29.5% hard hit rate, you might just get a little “lucky” from time to time. It’s not like the southpaw has been skating by on a soft schedule, either. Messick has faced the Dodgers, the Braves, the Cubs and the Orioles. There isn’t a single cakewalk in there.

That pattern of difficult matchups will continue on Tuesday, as well. For as underwhelming as the Astros’ record is, it’s mostly a byproduct of poor pitching. The offense has actually been one of the best in all of baseball. Houston actually leads all American League teams in wOBA (.350) and wRC+ (124), with Yordan Alvarez leading the charge. He’s been fantastic in left-on-left scenarios, too. In his 36 plate appearances within the split, Alvarez is slashing .448/.528/1.034 with a 315 wRC+. I don’t want to discount Jose Ramirez, who has six homers and 10 stolen bases for the Guardians, yet a healthy Alvarez is easily the best bat in this series. He’s that good.

Astros vs. Guardians pick, best bet

Best Bet: Jose Ramirez 2+ Total Bases (+107)

Weiss has a 6.27 FIP. The Astros’ bullpen has given up the most opponent home runs per nine (1.89). Ramirez probably won’t be in a single bad matchup this evening, and that’s before you factor in that the All-Star is a switch-hitter.

Strong Lean: Ryan Weiss 4+ Strikeouts (+123)

While Weiss’ surface numbers aren’t great, he has managed four strikeouts in two of his three outings where he’s thrown 60+ pitches. He’s struck out 18 in 14.2 innings and I expect he’ll flirt with the 90-pitch plateau on Tuesday.

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