RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- It was hardly a news flash to Charlotte's Eddie Jones that he almost outscored the Cleveland Cavaliers in the third quarter Friday night.

"I was trying," Jones said with a playful grin after he had 14 of his 17 points in third, when the Hornets outscored Cleveland 29-15 on the way to a 99-86 victory.

	There was no stopping Charlotte's Eddie Jones in the third quarter Friday.

It was Charlotte's seventh consecutive triumph and improved the Hornets to an NBA-best 11-1 at home this season.

"We're playing well and we just happen to win a lot of home games," coach Paul Silas said. "I really can't put my finger on it, to tell you the truth, as to the reason why. But I'm sure happy that it's working that way."

The Hornets were able to exploit Cleveland's overmatched inside game with repeated drives to the basket, leading to a 28-for-35 performance at the free throw line by Charlotte. Jones and Elden Campbell both were 7-of-8.

"It was just a matter of asserting ourselves," Jones said. "We knew that if we played hard and kept the pressure on them, good things would happen."

Jones added eight rebounds and five assists, and Bobby Phills scored 19 points to lead five Charlotte players in double figures.

The Cavaliers, who went to the line just 13 times, fell to 2-8 on the road, including losses in their last four games.

"We can't let a couple of missed shots affect our play," said coach Randy Wittman, whose team shot 38 percent one game after shooting a season-high 56 percent. "Some of our guys tend to get frustrated when shots stop falling, and we just can't do that."

Cleveland's Shawn Kemp had 15 points and 10 rebounds but got into foul trouble in the decisive third quarter.

"They played more aggressively and did things to win the game down the stretch. We didn't do that. That's pretty much it," Kemp said. "We'll be OK."

The Hornets broke it open by starting the second half with a 25-8 surge, including 17 consecutive points to cap the run. Jones had 12 points in the run, which gave Charlotte a 71-53 lead with 3:36 left in the third.

The Hornets pushed their lead to 19 midway through the fourth quarter, and Cleveland was unable to get closer than 10 the rest of the way.

Jones, who came in averaging an NBA-leading 2.95 steals, added one more. He has at least one steal in 18 consecutive games and 20 of Charlotte's 22 this season.

Game notes
The officiating crew of Terry Durham, David Jones and Rodney Mott drew repeated complaints from both teams for calling eight offensive fouls in the first half. On one play, when Charlotte's Jones was driving to the basket on Bob Sura, one official called a charge and another called a block, so fouls were assessed on both players and a jump ball was held at center court. Seconds after the ninth offensive foul was called in the third quarter, Cleveland's Mark Bryant protested loudly and was ejected. ... The Cavaliers fell to 0-4 on the road against Central Division teams.