New Orleans 79, Cleveland 78 (F)

LAS VEGAS, July 19 – With LeBron James in the audience, the Cleveland Cavaliers fell to the New Orleans Hornets, 79-78, on Saturday during the NBA Summer League at the COX Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada – Las Vegas.

After leading much of the game, the Cavaliers (0-4) surrendered the lead at the 7:24 mark of the fourth quarter on a short jumper by Ndudi Ebi, which put the Hornets ahead 60-59. This momentum changer resulted in a seesaw of lead changes the rest of the way.

Cleveland’s Clay Tucker led all scorers with 23 points and appeared to give the Cavs the one point victory by converting two free throws with 4.7 seconds remaining, but a putback at the buzzer by the Hornets’ Larry Owens sealed the victory for New Orleans. Ebi and Bobby Brown led the Hornets with 15 points apiece.

New Orleans (4-1) finishes their summer league schedule tomorrow when they face the Portland Trail Blazers in the 5 p.m. game at COX Pavilion, while the Cavaliers round out their schedule with a 3:30 p.m. meeting against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Thomas & Mack Center.