By Sam Perley, hornets.com
Despite the absence of leading-scorer, Kemba Walker, the Hornets still managed to rally in the second half to shock the conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers, 106-97, on Wednesday, Feb. 3, in Charlotte. Trailing by nine at halftime, the Hornets exploded in the third quarter and then held off a late Cavaliers rally to open their four-game homestand with a big victory. Jeremy Lin led the Hornets with a team-high 24 points while Kyrie Irving finished with 26 points for Cleveland in the loss.
Turning Points Trailing 58-49 at the break, the Hornets rallied in the third quarter by knocking down 12-of-19 field-goal attempts (63.2 percent), which also included 5-of-8 makes from three-point range (62.5 percent). The Charlotte defensive looked just as sharp as they held the Cavaliers to just 7-of-23 shooting in the frame (30.4 percent) to help build a seven-point lead heading into the fourth. Cleveland managed to trim Charlotte’s lead down to six with 2:44 remaining in the game before Jeremy Lin knocked down all but two of the Hornets’ final eight points to close out the win and snap the Cavaliers’ five-game winning streak.
Inside the Box Score Jeremy Lin led the Hornets in both scoring (24 points) and assists (eight)… Marvin Williams tallied 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go along with four rebounds… Frank Kaminsky notched his 14th double-digit scoring performance of the season, finishing with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting and six rebounds… Michael Kidd-Gilchrist tallied his second-consecutive double-double with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds… Nicolas Batum chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and five assists… Kyrie Irving tallied a game-high 26 points and five assists for the Cavaliers… LeBron James finished with 23 points, six rebounds, six assists and a game-high-tying two blocks… Kevin Love notched his 23rd double-double of the season with 12 points and a team-high 12 rebounds… J.R. Smith tacked on 14 points and a season-high-tying four steals… Charlotte dominated the Cavaliers on the boards, 49-28, which included an 11-3 advantage in offensive rebounds…. The three offensive rebounds by Cleveland was one shy of tying a season low for a Hornets’ opponent… The Hornets outscored the Cavaliers in second-chance points, 13-5, and on fast-break points, 19-12… Charlotte’s bench finished with 39 points while the Cleveland bench managed just 18 points.
Hornets Player of the Game Jeremy Lin put together a big performance for the hometown Hornets, finishing with a team-high 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting, five rebounds and a game-high eight assists in the victory. This is Lin’s fifth game this season with 20-or-more points, which is third-most of any player on the team.
Cavaliers Player of the Game Kyrie Irving knocked down a game-high 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting along with five assists to lead the visiting Cavaliers. Irving, who notched his third-highest scoring total of the season, has now scored 20-or-more points in a season-high four-consecutive games for Cleveland.
Game Notes Kemba Walker did not play for Charlotte (knee)… Matthew Dellavedova was unavailable for the Cavaliers (hamstring)… Spencer Hawes and J.R. Smith were each assessed technical fouls in the fourth quarter… With the Charlotte win, Steve Clifford notched his 100th career win as a NBA head coach.
Next Up The Hornets will take on the Miami Heat at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 5 in Charlotte. This game can be seen on FOX Sports Southeast or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Postgame Twinterview Following the win against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Hornets Michael Kidd-Gilchrist sat down to answer your Twitter questions for a post game “Twinterview”
