By Sam Perley, hornets.com
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Result
Attempting to stay undefeated in their current seven-game home stretch, the Hornets would come up short against the Cleveland Cavaliers, falling, 95-90, on Friday, Nov. 27 in Charlotte. With the loss, Charlotte snapped its seven-game home winning streak while the Cavaliers ended their own three-game, road losing streak. Kemba Walker led all Hornets scorers with a team-high 18 points while LeBron James scored 25 points in the Cavaliers win.
Turning Points
Things were tight all night between the Hornets and Cavaliers until the 8:00 mark of the fourth quarter, when Cleveland began piecing together a 13-4 run in the span of about five minutes to take a 92-88 lead with 3:04 remaining in the game. A Jeremy Lamb jump shot with one minute remaining would get the Hornets within two, which was then followed up with a scoreless possession by the Cavaliers on the ensuing end. After a Hornets timeout, Nicolas Batum’s potential go-ahead three-pointer with 19 second remaining hit off the rim and into the hands of Cleveland’s LeBron James. Three made free throws down the stretch ultimately sealed the win for the visiting Cavaliers as the Hornets season-long four-game winning streak came to an end at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Inside the Box Score
Kemba Walker tallied a team-high 18 points, a team-high-tying four assists and a team-high three steals for the Hornets… Nicolas Batum finished with 17 points and tied team-highs in both rebounds (eight) and assists (four)… Al Jefferson and Jeremy Lamb each finished with 11 points. Lamb also tied a team high with eight rebounds… Marvin Williams also scored in double figures, tallying 10 points, three assists and a team-high-tying two blocks… LeBron James led the Cavaliers with a team-high 25 points, 13 rebounds and a team-high-tying five assists… Kevin Love tallied his 10th double-double of the season, finishing with 18 points and a game-high 16 rebounds… Richard Jefferson (13) and J.R. Smith (11) also scored in double figures… Tristan Thompson chipped in seven points and 12 rebounds off the bench… Cleveland won the battle on the boards, 50-38, which included 12 offensive rebounds compared to seven by the Hornets… Charlotte turned the ball over 11 times while the Cavaliers had 16 giveaways… Both teams connected on exactly 19-of-25 free-throw attempts (76.0 percent).
Hornets Player of the Game
Kemba Walker put together a strong all-around performance, finishing with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks for the Hornets in the loss. Walker has now scored in double figures in eight-consecutive games, which is his longest streak of the 2015-16 NBA season.
Cavaliers Player of the Game
LeBron James had a dominant night for the Cavaliers with a team-high 25 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in the Cleveland win. This was the seventh double-double of the season for James and third in his last four games.
Game Notes
Kemba Walker tallied the 1,606th assist of his career in the second quarter, passing Baron Davis for the fourth-most all-time in Hornets franchise history… the Hornets have lost four-consecutive games to Cleveland… Charlotte is now 7-2 on the season and 5-1 at home when leading at halftime.
Next Up
The Hornets will take on the Milwaukee Bucks at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 29 in Charlotte. The game can be seen on FOX Sports Southeast or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.