Hornets 106, Cavaliers 97
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With starting point guard and leading scorer Kemba Walker sidelined with a sore left knee, backup Jeremy Lin stepped up Wednesday night to lead the Charlotte Hornets to a 106-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Lin finished with 24 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Forward Marvin Williams added 16 points as Charlotte (24-25) moved to within one game of .500.
Center Frank Kaminsky added 15 points and six rebounds and forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist contributed 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for Charlotte.
The Cavs (35-13) were led by point guard Kyrie Irving's 26 points. Forward LeBron James added 23 points and forward Kevin Love had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The second quarter featured 11 ties or lead changes before the Cavs closed by scoring with the last nine points to take a 58-49 halftime lead.
Lin was instrumental in turning the tide in the Hornets' favor in the third quarter.
Lin's three-point play on a driving layup and subsequent free throw after drawing a foul gave Charlotte a 70-69 lead, and he followed with a beautiful dish to Kidd-Gilchrist for a fast-break dunk on the next possession. Then Lin hit two 3-pointers -- the last with 34.8 seconds left in the quarter to give the Hornets an 82-75 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
The Hornets never trailed again, leading by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter. A 3-pointer by Love and a dunk by James pulled the Cavs within 98-92 with 2:38 remaining, but Lin answered again with two free throws and a short pull-up jumper in the lane.
NOTES; Hornets coach Steve Clifford said before the game that starting PG Kemba Walker was sitting out because of a sore left knee but added that an MRI showed nothing serious. "So hopefully he'll play by Friday, but certainly there's no guarantee," Clifford said. ... Three Hornets players who had been out were cleared to play against the Cavs. Clifford said he will closely monitor the minutes of Nic Batum (toe strain), Jeremy Lamb (toe strain) and Cody Zeller (shoulder strain). ... Hornets C Al Jefferson remains out while recovering from right knee surgery. ... Clifford planned to ease Michael Kidd-Gilchrist back into the rotation by limiting his minutes when he returned recently after missing the first 46 games of the season following surgery for a torn labrum in his right shoulder. But after Kidd-Gilchrist played 37 minutes in his first game back at Portland and another 27 against the Lakers in Los Angeles, Clifford admitted, "That was the plan, but I had never really seen anybody come off an injury and play as many minutes as he did the first night. I was hoping for 20, 22, 24."