Charlotte Hornets bust out of skid with win over Los Angeles Clippers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kemba Walker scored 26 points, Dwight Howard had 16 points and 16 rebounds, and the Charlotte Hornets snapped a six-game losing streak with a 102-87 victory over the reeling Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night at the Spectrum Center.

The Hornets (6-9) led by as many as 12 points in the first half and took the lead for good on Jeremy Lamb's three-point play that made it 82-80 with 6:57 remaining. That was the last of 12 lead changes in the game.

Charlotte eventually led by as many as 15 points from there thanks to a 10-0 run in the final three minutes.

Walker was 6 of 9 from 3-point range, scoring 10 of his 26 pooints in the fourth quarter.

The Hornets also got 17 points from Lamb, 12 from Nicolas Batum, and 10 from Marvin Williams.

The Clippers (5-10) lost their eighth straight. They had not lost to Charlotte since 2014.

Lou Williams led the Clippers with 25 points. Blake Griffin scored 19 and DeAndre Jordan had 10 points and 14 rebounds. But the Clippers shot just 39.8 percent from the field, with Austin Rivers going 3 of 14 from the field.

Charlotte led 25-24 after one quarter, 55-46 at halftime and 73-71 after three quarters.

NOTES: Both teams were playing on the second night of back-to-backs. The Hornets lost 123-120 at Chicago on Friday and the Clippers fell 118-113 at Cleveland in overtime. ... Hornets G Kemba Walker's 47 points at Chicago were a franchise record for most points scored in a road game. ... The Hornets were without G Julyan Stone (strained left hamstring). ... The Clippers were without G Patrick Beverly (sore right knee), F Danilo Gallinari (strained left glute) and G Milos Teodosic (strained left foot). ... The Clippers are 0-5 this season against Eastern Conference opponents. ... Clippers C DeAndre Jordan came into the game second in the NBA in rebounding at 14.0 and Hornets C Dwight Howard was fourth at 12.2. ... The Clippers were playing the second game on a five-game road trip. They will play at New York on Monday. ... The Hornets were opening a three-game homestand. They host Minnesota on Monday.