The Sports Xchange
Nov 15, 2017
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- LeBron James scored 31 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers continued their mastery of the Charlotte Hornets with a 115-107 victory on Wednesday night at the Spectrum Center.
The Cavs have won the past seven games between the teams and 11 of the last 12. James has a career record of 44-6 over the Hornets and Bobcats in his 15 seasons in the NBA.
The Cavs (8-7) won their third straight and the Hornets (5-8) dropped their fifth in a row.
James has scored 30 or more against the Hornets 19 times in his career, and he was clearly the dominant player on the court even though he fought foul trouble at times in the second half.
His steal and dunk with 3:02 remaining was probably the defining play of the night, giving the Cavs a 111-102 lead.
Cleveland trailed 67-61 at halftime but outscored Charlotte 27-17 in the third quarter and then pushed the lead to as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter.
The Cavs also got 22 points and 10 rebounds from Kevin Love. Jeff Green scored 13, Kyle Korver 11 and J.R. Smith 10.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist led the Hornets with 22 points and Kemba Walker scored 20. Nicolas Batum finished with 16 in his first game of the season after missing the first 12 because of elbow surgery.
NOTES: This was the first of three meetings between the teams this season. They'll play in Cleveland on Nov. 24 and back in Charlotte on March 28. ... The Hornets wore throwback uniforms with pinstripes for the first time, from the original Hornets' 1988 season. ... The Cavs were without G Derrick Rose (left ankle sprain), G Isaiah Thomas (right hip) and C Tristan Thompson (left calf strain). ... The Hornets were without F Treveon Graham (right quad contusion) and G Julyan Stone (strained left hamstring). ... The Hornets were coming off a four-day break. Their last game was a 90-87 loss at Boston last Friday. ... The Cavs closed a four-game road trip. They won at New York 104-101 on Monday. ... Cavs F LeBron James came into the game fifth in the NBA in scoring at 28.1 points per game and fourth in assists at 8.8. ... Hornets C Dwight Howard came into the game fourth in the NBA in rebounding at 13.2. ... The Cavs will return home to host the LA Clippers on Friday. The Hornets will play at Chicago on Friday.