Hornets 107, Bobcats 99
Ryan Anderson scored 25 points and rookie Anthony Davis returned to the lineup with a double-double as host New Orleans sent Charlotte to its third straight defeat.
Davis, the No. 1 overall pick who missed the last two games with a slight concussion, had 23 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots. His personal 9-0 run midway through the third quarter helped the Hornets build a 12-point lead.
Anderson scored 10 of his points in the final quarter, including seven straight for a 90-76 edge with 7:09 to play as New Orleans bounced back from a 77-62 loss to Philadelphia in which it set a franchise low for points.
Ben Gordon came off the bench to score 13 of his team-high 34 points in the fourth for Charlotte. He had seven points in an 11-2 spurt to slice the deficit to 92-87 with just over 4 1/2 minutes left, but Anderson answered with his fifth 3-pointer.
Rookie reserve point guard Brian Roberts scored 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and added eight assists as the Hornets shot 51.8 percent (43 of 83) from the floor.
GAME NOTEBOOK: It was the first regular-season meeting between New Orleans' Davis and Charlotte's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The former Kentucky stars are the first players from one school to go 1-2 in the same draft. ... Hornets rookie G Austin Rivers, another first-round pick, also was back in the lineup after missing Wednesday's game with with a sprained left index finger. ... Bobcats rookie swingman Jeffery Taylor had seven points in his second straight start. He was scoreless in his first two games.