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Defending Champs End Hornets Winning Streak

By Matt Rochinski, hornets.com

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Result

Kemba Walker scored a team-high 28 points and Marco Belinelli poured in a season-high 22 off the bench as the Hornets pushed the defending NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers to their limit before eventually falling 112-105 on March 24 at Spectrum Center. The loss put an end to Charlotte’s three-game winning streak and puts the Hornets three games out of the No. 8 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 10 games remaining.

Turning Point

Charlotte trailed the Eastern Conference’s best team 99-87 early in the fourth quarter but responded with a 12-1 run to cut the lead to 100-99 with 4:20 remaining. The Cavs showed why they’re the defending champs over the next 1:36, putting together a 7-0 run behind a J.R. Smith three-pointer, a long jumper from Kevin Love and a LeBron James drive to the basket while forcing two Hornets turnovers to take a 107-99 lead. Charlotte continued to fight back but could not cut Cleveland’s lead to any less than five points on the way to the loss in front of a sold out crowd at Spectrum Center.

Hornets Player of the Game

Kemba Walker scored a team-high 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field, including 5-of-10 from long range while adding a team-high five assists to go with two steals, two rebounds and one block. It marked Walker’s 49th game with 20-plus points this season. Walker averaged 27.5 points in four games against Cleveland this season. With five threes on the night, Walker now has 208 threes on the year, passing Glen Rice (207 in 1996-97) for the second most threes in a single season in franchise history (only trails Jason Richardson – 243, 2007-08). Walker has now hit five-plus threes in a single-season best 13 games in 2016-17.

Cavaliers Player of the Game

LeBron James posted his 36th double-double of the season with 32 points and 11 assists. It was James’ 19th game of the season with 30-or-more points. James also made a season-high 14 free throws on a season-high 16 free throw attempts. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter including Cleveland’s last seven points on the way to the win.

Game Notes

Kemba Walker (28 points) and Nicolas Batum (19) outscored the Cleveland starting backcourt 47-35… Marco Belinelli led all reserves with a season-high-tying 22 points on 7-of-12 from the field… Cody Zeller had his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points on 6-of-6 field goals and 11 boards. Zeller is the first Charlotte player since P.J. Brown on 12/30/00 to have a double-double with at least six field goal attempts while also being perfect from the field… Marvin Williams had his ninth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. He now has six double-double in his last 11 games… Charlotte led the Cavaliers in second chance points 24-7 and had a 14-3 advantage in offensive boards… Kevin Love posted his 34th double-double of the year with 15 points and 12 boards… Kyrie Irving had 26 points, his 54th game with 20-plus points this season.

Quote of the Night

“We made too many mistakes against an experienced, championship team. We fought to the end, which was good, but we’ll come in to work tomorrow and hopefully be better on Sunday against Phoenix” - Marco Belinelli

Quote of the Night

“We made too many mistakes against an experienced, championship team. We fought to the end, which was good, but we’ll come in to work tomorrow and hopefully be better on Sunday against Phoenix” - Marco Belinelli

Next Up

The Hornets play their second game of a three-game homestead with a Sunday matinee a 1 p.m. on March 26 against Phoenix at Spectrum Center. Watch the game on Fox Sports Southeast or listen on the Hornets App or WFNZ.

next up

Sunday, Mar 26 - 1:00 pmSpectrum Center, Charlotte, NC

Fox Sports Southeast - Charlotte Hornets App & WFNZ 610 AM