Gordon Hayward returns, result still familiar. Takeaways from Hornets’ double OT loss to Cleveland

Terry Rozier squatted down just in front of the opposing bench, having done it again in the city and venue he spent some of the most memorable days and nights of his childhood.

Rozier, who’s from Youngstown, Ohio, and grew up in Cleveland, had just swished an improbable game-tying 3-pointer that forced an extra session, aiding the Hornets’ comeback from a hefty double-digit fourth-quarter deficit. On a night they welcomed Gordon Hayward’s return, overcoming their shooting woes and lengthy scoring droughts, the Hornets still had an opportunity to pull one out on the road against a team that’s considered one of the Eastern Conference’s elite.

But Rozier missed a pull-up from the free-throw line at the buzzer in overtime and the Hornets unraveled in the second overtime, falling 132-122 to the Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

“I’m a winner,” Rozier said. “I want to win, no matter how I play. Definitely being at home I want to win, but we didn’t. We came up short. I’m going to always look myself in the mirror and take the blame for that.”

Storming back from a 15-point hole in the fourth quarter and even holding a three-point edge with 15.8 seconds remaining in the first overtime had the Hornets (4-13) on the verge of an improbable win. Coming through in the clutch completely was an issue, however, and they yielded a game-sealing 15-2 run to Cleveland in the second extra session.

“Yeah, it’s a tough one,” Hayward said. “It’s certainly a roller coaster of emotions. Up and down and the game was right there within our grasp at the end. Big shot by us to send it to overtime and then I thought we played really well in that overtime, got ourselves a three-point lead with 20 seconds left.

“On the road against an elite level team, we’ll take that every day of the week to give ourselves a chance. One to learn from, especially with the situation there at the end of the game.”

Here are some takeaways from the Hornets’ second straight loss and 12th in their past 14 games:

Rusty Gordon

Hayward’s absence ended at eight games.

He was a surprise starter after initially being categorized as doubtful leading into the morning shootaround. But afterward, Hayward was upgraded to questionable and didn’t experience any setbacks during pregame warmups, paving the way for him to be in the lineup for the first time since going out against Chicago on Nov. 2 with left shoulder contusion.

Hayward showed signs of rust early, especially within the mid-range, but slowly got into a flow. He connected on 5 of 14 attempts, with two of those makes coming from 3-point range, and posted 13 points to go with seven assists and seven rebounds in 37 minutes.

“I didn’t think it would be double overtime first game back,” Hayward said. “But I think it was good. First game, trying to find my rhythm out there and we gave ourselves a chance to win. That’s all you can ask for.”

Beaten up inside

Remember when Jarrett Allen didn’t make the All-Star team initially a season ago and Cleveland faced the Hornets not long after he got snubbed? Allen responded with 28 points and 22 rebounds.

There’s just something about the Hornets that brings out the best in Allen. And it was no different this time around.

Allen returned after being sidelined for two games with an illness and terrorized the Hornets with 20 points and 12 rebounds, leading a front line that beat up Charlotte inside. The Hornets were thoroughly outplayed to the tune of a 64-54 advantage by the Cavs (9-6) in points in the paint.

“They’ve got a good team and they built their team of being long and big down there in the paint,” Rozier said. “They do a good job of packing the paint and being long and being tall. It’s tough definitely, but it’s something we’ve just got to keep getting better and keep moving defenses and stuff like that.”

Rare early cameo for Kai

It’s not often Kai Jones is on the floor for meaningful minutes. Typically, whenever he’s summoned into the game the outcome is already decided.

But the second-year big man wasn’t in for mop-up duty against the Cavs.

Jones logged four minutes in the second quarter, stepping into the rotation when sixth-man Jalen McDaniels got into foul trouble and collected three in seven minutes. He had a high-flying follow up on a Mason Plumlee layup midway through the quarter that got a rise out of the Hornets’ bench and also snatched three rebounds down.

Jones’ outside shot still needs work, though. He hit nothing but glass on a 3-point attempt in the fourth quarter.

“He’s gotten a lot better,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “He would be a good example of when people try to say, ‘You can only improve if people let you play in the games.’ He hasn’t played in games and he’s improved greatly because of his approach. He’s now somebody that has gone from needing to learn how to help the team function to being one of our better guys. And it shows every day in practice.”

Jones’ steady improvement behind the scenes is being rewarded.

“He’s diligent, he studies at home and it gives me confidence when I watch him every day,” Clifford said. “So when you do things like that and people say he needs a chance, they all get a chance every day. He’s gotten a chance every day. I’ve been impressed by what he does, so right now he’s getting a chance to play some.”