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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Despite three new faces in the starting
lineup, the Charlotte Hornets are playing like a veteran team.
They're also the hottest team in the NBA.
|  | | Jamal Mashburn scored eight of his 27 points in OT as the Hornets won their 11th straight at home. |
The Hornets won their seventh straight game -- the longest
current winning streak in the league -- with a 115-110 overtime
victory Tuesday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"My first year here, when I joined a team of veterans, I always
felt late in games that if it was a one- or two-point game we would
win," said David Wesley, who led the Hornets with 32 points. "I'm
starting to feel like that with this team, too.
"We have an air of confidence, a 'We-won't-be-beat' type of
thing, and right now it's burned in our minds."
The Hornets have won 11 straight at home.
But they're about to be tested. They start a six-game road trip
through the West Coast on Thursday at Sacramento.
"We'll get to see exactly where we are on this road trip,"
said coach Paul Silas. "We need to play with energy and play
consistently. If we do that, we'll have a chance in every game."
The Cavaliers dropped their fourth straight, and fell 3*#189; games
behind the Hornets in the Central Division.
"We've got to get back on the winning track," said Cleveland
guard Matt Harpring, who scored a career-high 25 points. "We've
got to find a way to snap out of this."
Cleveland, which rallied from 14 points down in the fourth
quarter, became only the second team this season to score 100 or
more points against the Hornets. But the Cavaliers scored only 11
in overtime, and all but three came after Charlotte built an
eight-point lead.
Jamal Mashburn, one of Charlotte's new starters, scored eight of
his 27 points in overtime to lead the Hornets. He did all of the
damage after Harpring fouled out 14 seconds into the extra period.
Without Harpring's defense Mashburn got easy looks at the
basket. He scored on all three of his jumpers, and his dunk with 28
seconds to play in overtime made it 112-105.
"David and Jamal are our two main guys on any given night,"
Silas said. "We expect them to come through and they did."
Elden Campbell scored 17 points for Charlotte. P.J. Brown,
another new starter, had 11 rebounds. Rookie Lee Nailon was 4-for-4
from the floor for a career-high 12 points and Baron Davis, the
third new face in Charlotte's lineup, had 12 points and seven
assists.
Derrick Coleman, who returned to Charlotte's lineup after almost
six weeks on the injured list, played 13 minutes. He scored four
points, had one rebound and picked up four fouls.
Andre Miller led Cleveland with a career high 30 points and
Lamond Murray scored 18.
The Cavs, who placed 7-foot-3 center Zydrunas Ilgauskas on the
injured list before the game with a broken foot, briefly lost
Harpring when he strained his left Achilles tendon late in the
third quarter.
Charlotte was clinging to a 76-72 lead when Harpring went down.
The Hornets stretched their lead to 87-73 before Harpring returned
with just over eight minutes left.
Once Harpring returned, Cleveland got back into the game and cut
its deficit to 93-91 on Murray's two free throws with 3:39 to play.
The Cavaliers tied it at 99 on Harpring's long jumper with 21
seconds to play.
"He gives us a defensive presence and a toughness at that end
of the floor," said Cleveland coach Randy Wittman said of
Harpring. "When he went out, we lost a little bit of that,
especially in overtime."
Game notes
Wittman wouldn't speculate on whether Ilgauskas will play
again this season. "Sometimes you build up hope and then you have
a letdown," he said. ... Wittman singled out Murray as someone who
would have to pick up the slack for Ilgauskas: "He needs to step
up for us, work harder to get open and demand the ball." ...
Hornets forward Jamaal Magloire sat out the game with a sore left
foot. He missed three games earlier this month with the same
injury.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Cleveland Clubhouse
Charlotte Clubhouse
RECAPS
Charlotte 115
Cleveland 110
Detroit 101
Boston 96
Atlanta 81
New Jersey 76
Dallas 114
Seattle 93
Milwaukee 89
Orlando 77
Minnesota 100
Toronto 97
San Antonio 103
Houston 95
Denver 109
LA Clippers 108
Philadelphia 97
Utah 91
Phoenix 97
Vancouver 95
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
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