3 Eye-popping stats from the Cavaliers' record-setting win over Hornets

Let's get it out of the way: the Cleveland Cavaliers have nailed their City Edition uniforms this year. That gorgeous shade of blue, the intentional artwork scrolling down the sides, the slash of design rolling across the court like a river -- they nailed it. The collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Art was a 9/10 for me.

As the Cavaliers played the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday evening, the new art was not the only thing that looked good. Playing without Donovan Mitchell and multiple rotation players -- and losing two more during the game -- the Cavs held off the plucky Hornets and won the game, 128-114.

In the process, the Cavaliers produced a number of eye-popping stats. Let's look at three that stand out from yet another win for this freight train of a Cleveland team this season.

Stat No. 1: 24 points

In the past, the Cavaliers would have started a wing in place of Donovan Mitchell were their star shooting guard to miss time. Instead, the play of Ty Jerome has been so strong to start the season that head coach Kenny Atkinson elevated him into the starting lineup.

Jerome responded with his best game of the season, an impressive statement given how well he has played thus far. In fact, it was one of the best games of his career, as Jerome scored 24 points, tying his previous career-best. He shot 9-for-15 from the floor and 4-for-7 from 3-point range, adding in 8 assists and just two turnovers. He finished +14 for the night and has been a driving force behind Cleveland's undefeated start.

Stat No. 2: 27 of 28 free throws

The Cleveland Cavaliers were continually marching to the free-throw line on Sunday against the Hornets -- and what's more, they were nearly perfect when they got there.

The Cavs shot 27-for-28 from the stripe against the Hornets, with Darius Garland a perfect 9-for-9 and Evan Mobley, Ty Jerome, Caris LeVert and Craig Porter Jr. all nailing their one or two trips to the line. The only miss came from Jarrett Allen, whose 9-for-10 line was incredible for the big man. That equates to a 96.4 percent night for Cleveland.

Only five times last season did a team attempt at least 28 free-throws and make 96 percent or more of them, led by the Philadelphia 76ers shooting 34-35 from the stripe in a November 2023 game against the Indiana Pacers - a game that the 76ers lost! Joel Embiid shot 17-for-17, De'Anthony Melton went 10-for-10, and Tyrese Maxey 7-for-7...and Tobias Harris went 0-for-1.

The last time that the Cleveland Cavaliers shot at least 96 percent on 28 attempts or more was all the way back in 1998, when the Cavs were an identical 27-for-28 in a win over the Phoenix Suns. Derek Anderson led the way in going 8-for-8 from the line, while Shawn Kemp was 4-for-4 and Brevin Knight had the only miss of the night. A rookie Zydrunas Ilgauskas was 3-for-3 as part of his 23 points and 16 rebounds on the night.

The Charlotte Hornets started the 6'6" Grant Williams at center and backed him up with the outmatched Moussa Diabate behind him, and the Cavaliers feasted all night in the paint. The Cavs outscored the Hornets 60-42 in the paint on field goals, and racked up 28 free-throw attempts vs just 12 for the Hornets.

Stat No. 3: 15-0

There are a few other exciting stats to point at from the game, but the one that has the entire sports world buzzing is "15".

The Cleveland Cavaliers are 15-0 to start the season, tied for the second-longest winning streak to start the season in NBA history. The longest should be familiar to Cleveland fans: the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who started 24-0, went on to win an NBA-record 73 games, and then lost a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals to LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

While the Cavs certainly have an NBA title in mind, even getting to the NBA Finals would be a major accomplishment for this group. They resisted calls, including from yours truly, to break up this core and try something new. This team is deep, versatile and explosive.

They aren't simply getting lucky as they play tight games against weak opponents, either. While their record has skewed toward the easier side of things, NBA teams have "easy" schedules every year and they don't start 15-0.

What's more, the Cavaliers have done everything you would expect a truly great team to do during this winning streak. They are 8-0 at home and 7-0 on the road. They have played eight teams that made the playoffs last season and seven that did not. They have eight double-digit victories, they have the league's No. 1 offense and the No. 7 defense, and while they are shooting a league-best 41.9 eprcent from 3-point range, their opponents have been shooting the third-highest percentage; if one number regresses to the mean, the other is likely to as well.

In essence, the Cavaliers are undefeated and have earned their record. They will take that record into Boston on Tuesday night for a monumental showdown.