CHARLOTTE, N.C.: Michael Jordan finally scored a victory against LeBron James — and he had a front-row seat to see it.
James had 23 points, six rebounds and six assists while moving up the career scoring list, but the Cavaliers were smashed in rebounding and lost to the Charlotte Hornets 106-97 Wednesday night. It was the Hornets’ first victory against any of James’ teams since Jordan bought the franchise in 2010.
Kyrie Irving scored 26 points and Kevin Love had 12 points and 12 rebounds on a night the Cavs’ five-game winning streak ended.
James was 21-0 against Jordan’s team before Wednesday, when His Airness watched the game next to the Hornets’ bench.
The Cavs were outrebounded 49-28 and allowed 33 points to the Hornets in the third quarter after surrendering 30 to the Pacers in the third quarter Monday. They needed overtime to escape with a win Monday, but weren’t as fortunate this time.
Tempers flared in the fourth when J.R. Smith and former Cavs center Spencer Hawes were caught in a tie-up. The two were quickly separated, but when Hawes ran over James on an offensive foul and appeared to taunt him, Smith gave Hawes a two-handed shove to earn a technical.
The technical on Smith seemed to inspire the Cavs at least temporarily, but it was too late. A jumper moments later from Michael Kidd-Gilchrist stretched the Hornets’ lead to 98-83 with 4:56 left — their largest of the game.
The Cavs ripped off the next nine points, including a thunderous dunk down the lane by James to pull within six. They didn’t get any closer.
It was only the Cavs’ second loss in their last 12 road games, but it came on a night when Hornets leading scorer Kemba Walker missed his first game of the season with a sore left knee. The Hornets didn’t really miss his 20.2 points.
Jeremy Lin scored 24 points and passed for eight assists in Walker’s place, while Kidd-Gilchrist had 11 points and 13 rebounds in his first home game after missing the first three months of the season with a shoulder injury. Frank Kaminsky had 15 points and six rebounds off the bench.
The Cavs can blame the bulk of the loss on rebounding after they were decimated on the glass for the second time in as many games.
The Cavs shot 46 percent, but were limited to one shot nearly the entire night. They grabbed just three offensive rebounds.
James, however, moved past Kevin Garnett for 16th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. James now has 26,094 career points and counting.
Matthew Dellavedova missed the game with a sore left hamstring that has bothered him for a couple of weeks. Dellavedova, who was perhaps limited by the hamstring Monday when he matched a season high with four turnovers against the Indiana Pacers, was hopeful he’ll be back Friday when the Cavs host the Boston Celtics.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.