Charlotte Hornets fall to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, 118-105

Kemba Walker broke the Charlotte Hornets’ all-time scoring record but the Queen City team wasn’t able to take down the Cavs.

The Charlotte Hornets (34-42) were defeated by the Cleveland Cavaliers (45-30) as their four-game win streak came to an end. LeBron James couldn’t be stopped as he nearly put up a 40-point triple-double. With 21 points, Kemba Walker became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer as he passed Dell Curry.

Cody Zeller (left knee soreness) missed his 10th straight game and could be shut down for the remainder of the season. Michael Carter-Williams was also out while both two-way player Marcus Paige and Mangok Mathiang weren’t with the team. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (food poisoning) was questionable entering the game but ended up playing 21 minutes. Nicolas Batum was still on a minutes restriction for this game.

Game Story

The Hornets kept the game close early on but LeBron scored 16 points in the second quarter alone and had 22 in the first two quarters to help give the Cavs a 10-point lead at halftime. Cleveland eventually pushed their lead to as much as 20 points in the third quarter. Charlotte just couldn’t find a way to slow down James in this one.

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Player of the Game

Kemba Walker led the Hornets as he finished with a team-high 21 points to go along with four assists. The two-time all-star only had three points in the first half but managed to score 11 points in the final 3 minutes of the fourth quarter to pass Dell Curry on Charlotte’s all-time scoring list. The record-breaking basket came on the final shot of the game with 18.9 seconds left on the clock.

Dwight Howard had a double-double as he scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Frank Kaminsky led the Hornets’ second unit with 16 points off of the bench while Jeremy Lamb and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist each chipped in with 11 points. Marvin Williams and Nicolas Batum were both held to only six points.

The Cavs were led by LeBron James who ended the game with 40 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. JR Smith added 19 points off of the bench on 8-9 shooting from the field. Jeff Green contributed with 18 points while Rodney Hood rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points.

Highlight of the Night:

Tweet of the Game:

"Quick Stings"

• Kemba scored at least 20 points for the 50th time this season.
• Walker is now 0-22 in his career vs LeBron.
• This game featured 10 ties and five lead changes.
• Cleveland made 11 three’s compared to only five from Charlotte.
• The Hornets committed 13 turnovers while the Cavaliers only turned the ball over six times.

With the loss, Charlotte falls to 0-3 against Cleveland this year. They were swept by the Cavs for the second consecutive season. The Hornets have now lost nine straight regular-season games to the Cavaliers and 13 of their last 14 in total with their last victory coming on February 3rd, 2016.

Next: Why Sam Hinkie would be perfect for Charlotte

In their next outing, the Hornets will travel to the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Wizards on Saturday, March 31st. It will be the fourth and final meeting between the two divisional rivals this year. Steve Clifford’s side will look to bounce back and sweep the season series over the Wizards.