CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sporting Alert – Jeremy Lin scored 24 points and led five of his teammates in double-digits, and the Charlotte Hornets rallied in the second half to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-97 on Wednesday night. Box score
Lin went 7-of-13 on shooting from the floor and added eight assists and five rebounds for the Hornets, who outscored the Cavaliers 33-17 in the third quarter to take an 82-75 lead before seizing the advantage and then extended the lead to double figures.
Marvin Williams finished with 16 points and four rebounds, Frank Kaminsky III added 15 points and six boards off the bench for Charlotte (24-25), which improved to 17-8 at the Time Warner Cable Arena this season.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist collected 11 points and 13 rebounds and Nicholas Batum scored 10 points for the Hornets, who played without starting point guard Kemba Walker due to a sore left knee.
Walker is averaging 20.2 points, 5 assists and 4.3 rebounds this season. He was missing his first game of the term.
Kyrie Irving paced the Cavaliers with 26 points and five assists, while LeBron James added 23 points, six rebounds, six assists and two blocks for Cleveland, which had won five straight entering Wednesday night’s contest.
Also scoring in double figures for the Cavs in the defeat were J.R. Smith, who scored 14 points and had four steals, as well as Kevin Love, who finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals in the defeat.
Cleveland shot 45.8 percent from the floor on 38-of-83 shooting, while the Hornets, who led by as many as 15 points in the closing parts of the fourth quarter, shot 49.4 percent from the field.
The win on Wednesday night saw Charlotte, which outrebounded the Cavs 49-28 — snapping a four-game losing streak against the Cavaliers, while winning two in a row.
Up next for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who lead the Eastern Conference standings, is a trip to the Boston Celtics on Friday night, while the Lin and the Charlotte Hornets stay at home to entertain the Miami Heat on Friday night as well.
