Charlotte Hornets still have no answer for Cavs’ LeBron James

The 0-for-LeBron era continued for the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, but at least this one was close.

The Hornets haven’t beaten a team with LeBron James on the roster since the first time he left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat in 2010. The streak continued with James scoring 25 points in his second stint with the Cavs, 95-90.

The loss broke a seven-game home winning streak for the Hornets, who fell to 9-7. The Cavaliers improved to 12-4. The Hornets are 4-1 on this seven-game homestand.

Nic Batum missed two 3-pointers in the last 20 seconds for the Hornets. J.R. Smith made two free throws to make it a two-possession lead for Cleveland late.

Three who mattered

James: He just kept drawing foul after foul from Charlotte’s forwards.

Marvin Williams: He defended aggressively but wisely most of the game versus the game’s best frontcourt player.

Kevin Love: His early rebounding set a tone for the Cavaliers.

Observations

▪  A slew of Carolina Panthers were in attendance Friday. Prominently, Thomas Davis, Cam Newton and coach Ron Rivera and his wife all were scheduled to show up.

▪  After sitting out the Washington game on Wednesday, backup center Spencer Hawes entered the game early in the second quarter. That had been Hawes first non-appearance this season.

▪  Former Hornet Mo Williams started at point guard for the Cavaliers. Hornets coach Steve Clifford said pre-game he “ran (Williams) into the ground” with too many minutes while Kemba Walker was hurt.

▪  Impressive ball fake by Hornets point guard Kemba Walker to end the first half: Walker got Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova off his feet, commiting a 3-shot foul. Walker made all three free throws for a two-point halftime lead.

▪  The Hornets’ biggest problem in the first half was containing Cavs power forward Kevin Love; he had 13 points and 11 rebounds by halftime.

Worth mentioning

▪  The Hornets have two games remaining in this seven-game homestand: Sunday afternoon versus the Milwaukee Bucks and Wednesday night against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

▪  After consecutive games of 19 turnovers, the Hornets cut down on their giveaways, totaling 12.

▪  Cool nod to the Hornets that Newton showed up for the game Friday in a vintage Larry Johnson jersey. James embraced Newton at courtside following the game.

Report card

B OFFENSE: The 3-point shooting was off, but the Hornets got to the foul line 25 times.

B- DEFENSE: The Cavs had a sizeable rebounding advantage much of the game and James churned out Hornets foul trouble for Williams and P.J. Hairston.

B COACHING: Wouldn’t Steve Clifford have loved a healthy Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for this one?

 

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 9:45 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets still have no answer for Cavs’ LeBron James."