The Cleveland Cavaliers (12 - 4) defeated the Charlotte Hornets (9 - 7) 95 - 90 on Friday. The Hornets have been playing some of the best basketball in the NBA right now, but the Cavaliers are simply better. Cleveland outscored the Hornets 23 - 14 in the final 12 minutes and they closed out the game like the winners they are. Both teams shot exactly 42 percent from the field and 76 percent from the free - throw line. The big difference was the rebounding, as Cleveland snatched 50 boards to the Hornets 38. Cleveland did n't play their best game on Friday, but they escaped with a very impressive win. LeBron James and Kevin Love carried the load like they have been all season and they're becoming one of the best tandems in the NBA right now. James tallied 25 points, 13 rebounds and five assists while Love amassed 18 points and 16 rebounds in the victory. They also got Timofey Mozgov back in this game from a shoulder injury and Tristan Thompson came off the bench to record yet another double - double. This has to be a satisfying win for King James, to beat a scorching - hot Charlotte team in front of Michael Jordan in their home building. The Cavs will look to keep up this nice run against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. The Hornets had their four - game winning streak snapped in this loss, but it was n't for a lack of effort. In fact, Charlotte dominated the hustle stats as they committed 14 combined blocks and steals to the Cavs five. The Hornets were led by Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum in the defeat. Walker tallied 18 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks while Batum totaled 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the loss. This still goes down as a loss, but it's a message for the rest of the league that they can compete with anybody on any night. Charlotte will look to start a new winning streak against the struggling Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
["PlayerStat(G,'LeBron James') has 5 Assists ,has 25 Blocks ,has 13 Points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Kevin Love') has 1 Assists ,has 18 Blocks ,has 16 Points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Nicolas Batum') has 4 Assists ,has 17 Blocks ,has 8 Points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Kemba Walker') has 4 Assists ,has 2 Blocks ,has 18 Points ,has 4 Total rebounds ,has 3 Steals ."]