Andre Miller collected 19 points and 10 assists and Wesley Person also added 19 as the Cavaliers recorded a fifth win in their last seven meetings with the Hornets at Gund Arena, 93-81.
Cleveland shot 26-of-27 from the line while Charlotte had only 15 free-throw attempts. The Hornets had a spell of almost 22 minutes in which they failed to go to the line.
 Ricky Davis hangs in the lane against the Hornets. David Liam Kyle NBAE/Getty Images |
After the Cavaliers held a slender 46-45 lead at the half, Miller collected nine points in the third quarter as Cleveland opened a 73-62 advantage.
The Hornets never threatened thereafter as the Cavaliers posted their 21st victory in 27 all-time home contests against Charlotte.
"I hate this place," said Hornets shooting guard David Wesley, who scored 18 points. "Even when they were the old Cleveland, I hated played in Cleveland. I just don't know what it is about playing in Cleveland."
Lee Nailon scored a career-high 20 points for the Hornets, who started a season-high six-game road trip.
"Boy, it's cold in this place," Hornets point guard Baron Davis said of Gund Arena. "We just can't seem to pull it out here. We lost our rhythm and we weren't aggressive. We just didn't come to play in the second half."
The contest was knotted at 53-53 when the Cavaliers unleashed an offensive burst. Miller made a basket before Lamond Murray and Wesley Person sank consecutive shots from beyond the arc to provide Cleveland with an eight-point cushion midway through the period.
"In the third quarter, I just think we rebounded well to get the ball up the court," Miller said. "Wes and Lamond had some big shots."
Nailon made two straight shots to cut the deficit to four. But Murray, Miller and Jumaine Jones combined to make 7-of-8 free throws and Jones added a basket with 35.6 seconds remaining in the third quarter to give the Cavaliers a double-digit lead.
In a contest where each team shot less than 40 percent from the field, success from the line proved vital for the Cavaliers.
Cleveland was fortunate to be trailing by only three after 12 minutes, having missed 14 shots. But the Cavaliers worked their way to the line in the second quarter, making all 11 free throws.
"It was kind of a slow start," Miller said. "We just tried to get to the free-throw line and get the ball inside."
"The Cavs were more aggressive, and aggressive teams are going to go to the line," Hornets coach Paul Silas said. "We've become a team that concentrates on referees too much and we have to get out of that, including myself."
Davis recorded nine assists for Charlotte. But he had a dreadful shooting night, hitting just 2-of-14 from the field. That frustration boiled over with 5:26 remaining in the first half, when Davis was whistled for a technical foul.
"We have to play and we all have to grow up and play tough basketball and we'll win games," Silas said. "Right now, we just can't do that."