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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It's been nearly six years since LeBron James was on the losing end in a game against a team from Charlotte. James extended his personal winning streak Friday night as he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 95-90 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
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The veteran forward finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and five assists as the Cavs rallied from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter and outscored the Hornets 23-14 in the final period.
James has now played in 21 straight wins over either the Hornets or their predecessors, the Charlotte Bobcats. Toss in two games he didn't play in, and the streak is actually 23 straight games where his team has beaten Charlotte.
He shrugged off the streak afterward.
"I don't know why," he said. "I don't have an answer for it. There's no extra motivation or anything. I'm just happy we were able to get off the schneid that we've been on for a while. We finally played our game of basketball for 48 minutes tonight and it was great to be a part of."
The Cavs (12-4) snapped a three-game road losing streak with the victory and bounced back from a 103-99 loss at Toronto Wednesday night that prompted a pep talk from James to his teammates.
"I thought our guys took the other night a little personally," Cavs coach David Blatt said. "They addressed it. It's not about what you say, it's what you do. They did it tonight, to their credit."
"We had to answer the call tonight," James said. "That's a veteran ball club. We've been together a little bit, not a long time, but we answered it."
The Cavs also got 18 points and 16 rebounds from forward Kevin Love, although Love played just 30 minutes and was on the bench down the stretch. Forward Richard Jefferson scored 13 points, and guard J.R. Smith scored 11.
Smith provided the offense when the Cavs needed it most down the stretch. The Cavs trailed by seven early in the fourth quarter but went on a 14-4 run to take the lead, and then Smith took over. His 3-pointer with 3:05 remaining gave the Cavs a 92-88 lead, and Charlotte never got closer than two again. Ultimately, Smith hit two free throws and James one in the final 12.9 seconds.
The Hornets scored just 14 points in the fourth quarter, going just 6-for-23 from the field (26.1 percent) in the period.
Blatt praised the Cavs defense.
"I thought we made the effort the whole game," Blatt said. "We felt and we knew that we needed a little bit more at that end of the court. I thought the guys really brought it, really brought energy to the court in the fourth quarter, especially on the defensive end. That was the key to the win. That team has been averaging 110 points. We held them to 90. That's not only a fourth quarter thing, that's a game-long thing. That's a credit to our players."
The Hornets (9-7) had a four-game winning streak snapped and had a seven-game home-court streak snapped. They shot just 41.3 percent from the field for the game.
Guard Kemba Walker scored 18 but was six of 16 from the field. Guard Nicolas Batum scored 17 but missed two 3-pointers in the final minute that could have made things interesting. Guard Jeremy Lamb and center Al Jefferson scored 11 apiece, and forward Marvin Williams scored 10.
"I thought we got decent shots against a good defensive team and the ball just didn't go in the basket, which sometimes it happens," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. "We did some good things. We were right there. We will watch the film. We will learn from it and try to get better tomorrow and play better on Sunday."
NOTES: C Timofey Mozgov returned to the Cavs' starting lineup after missing the previous three games with a shoulder injury. G Matthew Dellavedova also returned after missing one game with a calf injury. ... Cam Newton, coach Ron Rivera and several other members of the Carolina Panthers came out to see the Cavs and F LeBron James. ... James' last loss to Charlotte came back on Feb. 19, 2010, when he was on his first stint with the Cavs and Charlotte was still the Bobcats. James never lost to Charlotte in four seasons with Miami. ... The Hornets were playing the fifth game of a seven-game home stand. They were 7-1 at home riding a seven-game home winning streak entering Friday's game. ... James came into the game fifth in the NBA in scoring at 25.7. He passed Reggie Miller for 18th on the NBA career scoring list Wednesday. ... The Cavs will return home to host Brooklyn Saturday. ... The Hornets will host Milwaukee Sunday afternoon.
