Hornets 89, Cavaliers 84
HORNETS 89, CAVALIERS 84: Chris Kaman had 21 points and 13 rebounds and rookie Gustavo Ayon had a career-high 17 rebounds as New Orleans won at Cleveland despite playing its third road game in three nights.
The Hornets never trailed, although they struggled to put the game away because they opened the fourth quarter shooting just 2 of 11. But a 3-pointer by Marco Belinelli put the Hornets up 81-74 with 1:04 to play.
Antawn Jamison had 22 points and 12 rebounds and Kyrie Irving had a career high 11 assists for the Cavaliers, but the starting backcourt of Irving and Daniel Gibson combined to shoot just 3 of 22. They were outscored 32-13 by the Hornets’ starting backcourt.
Belinelli had 19 points and Jarrett Jack had 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Hornets, who lost the first two games of their three-games-in-three-nights set.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Cavaliers coach Byron Scott expects to have Anderson Varejao (fractured wrist) available for approximately the final 25 games of the season. … The Cavaliers shot 32 percent for the game, while the Hornets shot 40 percent. … Trevor Ariza was 0 for 6 shooting and scored just one point for the Hornets.