Hornets 106, Trail Blazers 94
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Guard Nicolas Batum and center Al Jefferson combined for 62 points as the Charlotte Hornets built a big lead and held on for a 106-94 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday at Time Warner Cable Arena.
The Hornets improved to 5-5 while the Blazers fell to 4-7.
Charlotte used a dominating inside-outside performance from Jefferson (29 points, five rebounds) and Batum (33 points, 5-of-10 on 3-pointers) to seize a lead in the second quarter that the Hornets would not relinquish.
The Hornets' 15-0 run that secured the lead began with a Batum 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter, and ballooned with the help of eight points from guard Jeremy Lamb (13 points for the game) in the second quarter.
Charlotte's hot second-quarter shooting (66.7 percent) coincided with the Blazers' sudden offensive disappearance. Portland did not score a point until 7:31 remained in the quarter, and didn't score a field goal until guard Damian Lillard sank one with 5:46 before halftime.
By halftime, the Hornets had built a 71-45 advantage, fueled by 65-percent shooting overall. The Blazers hit only 26.1 percent in the second quarter.
The Hornets led by as many as 29 points, but Portland used a 16-0 run in the fourth quarter to close the gap.
Batum, who was playing against the team he spent seven seasons with before he was traded to Charlotte in the offseason, scored nine points in the fourth quarter to keep the Blazers at bay. He fell short of his career high of 35 points.
Jefferson, who entered the game averaging 12.7 points per game, had his first breakout performance of the season. He sank his first 11 field-goal attempts until Blazers center Mason Plumlee's defense finally yielded a block with 7:02 left in the third quarter.
Lillard led the Blazers with 23 points on 9-of-25 shooting.
The Blazers hit 39.3 percent of their field goals compared to the Hornets' 49.4 percent.
NOTES: A moment of silence was held and the French national anthem was played before tipoff to honor those lost in the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday. ... Hornets G Nicolas Batum, a French native, played Friday's game against Chicago just hours after learning of the terrorist attack in his home country. His sister lives two blocks from the site of one of the attacks. "He was very poised, very composed before the game in Chicago," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "And even (Saturday), I told him when we practiced, 'If you have things going on, just take care of that.' But he came in, practiced. I think in a lot of ways, it's his demeanor -- very bright, very conscientious, but he's really handled it very well." ... Sunday's game marked the Charlotte return of G Gerald Henderson and F Noah Vonleh. Both players were traded in the offseason in exchange for Batum. Henderson has played just two games this season because of a hip injury. Vonleh is averaging 1.8 points and 2.3 rebounds. "I think for Noah, it's more about the future and looking toward his growth," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "He's a great kid, a great worker; one of the hardest workers I've been around."