Hornets @ Cavs

The New Orleans Hornets came into town looking to down former coach Paul Silas and to show the Cavs what the real teams of the Eastern Conference really look like. So the first quarter started and the Hornets were off and running. But LeBron James and Jason Kapono would prove to be too much for the Hornets. The Cavs made one of the most remarkable comebacks in franchise history, coming back from 25 down to overtake New Orleans in a 104-100 monstrous victory.

Kapono hasn't logged many minutes lately, but came off the bench to put on a shooting frenzy. He had 19 points on 7-9 shooting, hitting 5-5 from 3-point land. While he was at it he decided to get three steals, two assists, and five rebounds in 28 minutes. James scored 21 in the win but it was the other things that would propell the Cavs to the win. James line: 21 pts., 5 blocks, 2 steals, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds.

Cleveland has now won three in a row in four days in impressive fashion. First they defeated the world champ Spurs, then march into Madison Square Garden to knock of the Knicks, and then top it with a remarkable comeback win over the Hornets.

New Orleans stung the Cavs with their first quarter shooting. The Hornets scored the first seven points of the quarter and didn't let up. Jamal Mashburn and Baron Davis combined to go 12-12 from the floor in scoring 28 of New Orleans' 37 points. The Hornets shot a ridiculous 78 percent from the field and jumped out to a 37-16 lead after one period of play.

The Hornets continuted to put up some points early in the second quarter and scored 22 for the period. The Cavs found themselves down by 25 twice during the period, the second coming after a Mashburn jumper to make the score 49-24 with about 6:30 to play in the quarter. But the Cavs didn't let up and made a rally of their own and outscored the Hornets 29-22 in the quarter to cut the lead to 59-45 at the half.

Cleveland then made a comeback for the ages. From about the 6:30 mark in the second quarter, the Cavs would outscore the Hornets 80-50 to end the game.

Cleveland fought all the way back and finally tied the game at 79 on one of Kapono's 3-pointers with 9:51 to play. Davis promptly came back with a jumper of his own to put the Hornets back on top. But back-to-back jumpers by Kapono and Jeff McInnis gave the Cavs their first lead of the game at 83-82 with 7:41 to play. McInnis had another great game coming up with some clutch shots down the stretch, including a 3-pointer to break a 91 tie and put the Cavs up for good. The Cavs outscored the Hornets 10-6 in the final two and a half minutes of play to wrap up an unbelievable win.

After starting off 0-7 and 6-19, the Cavs find themselves 1 1/2 games out of the eighth and final playoff spot.

Carlos Boozer had another solid game leading the Cavs with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Boozer came up with a few clutch free-throws to put the game away. Zydrunas Ilgauskas also chipped in 14 pts, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. McInnis had 14 points and 9 assists before fouling out. DaJuan Wagner had 7 points and 2 key rebounds off the bench.

After going 12-12 in the first quarter, Davis and Mashburn combinded to go just 8-33 the rest of the game. Davis had 34 pts, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals - but he had 8 turnovers. Mashburn went for 23 pts. and 8 rebounds. P.J. Brown was a solid performer with 13 pts. and 13 rebounds.

The Cavs were, for once, outrebounded 46-32 for the game. Both teams shot well for the game - the Hornets shot 46% while the Cavs shot 47% from the floor.

CavsTalk