Cavaliers 91, Hornets 87: Kevin Love scored 15 of his 27 points in the second half as Cleveland rallied to snap a streak of three straight road losses to Charlotte.

Kyrie Irving scored 23 points on 8-of-27 shooting and Tristan Thompson collected 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were without superstar LeBron James for a third consecutive game because of knee and back strains. Dion Waiters added 17 points off the bench for Cleveland, which trailed by as many as 11 points before intermission.

Gerald Henderson scored 14 points and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist tallied 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who were missing star center Al Jefferson and guard Lance Stephenson because of groin injuries. Gary Neal added 11 points off the bench and Kemba Walker contributed 10 for Charlotte, which has lost five straight following a season-high four-game winning streak.

Love connected on three straight 3-pointers to ignite a huge third quarter for the Cavaliers, who outscored the Hornets 32-18 in the period to take a 72-64 lead into the final stanza. Henderson pulled Charlotte within 86-83 with a driving bucket with 1:22 left but missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it on the next trip and Love drained a turnaround jumper on the left wing at the end of the shot clock before Cleveland sealed it at the line.

After going 10-of-16 in the first quarter, the Hornets missed 13 of their first 14 shots in the second to allow Cleveland to erase a nine-point deficit before answering with a 12-1 run of their own to claim their largest lead of the half at 43-32. The Cavaliers put together another 8-0 spurt to trim the deficit to three before Neal drained a 3-pointer to put Charlotte up 46-40 at the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cleveland's point total (40) and shooting percentage (33.3) marked its lowest in the first half this season. … Thompson has recorded four straight double-doubles, matching the longest streak of his career. … Kidd-Gilchrist notched his third double-double of the season and has scored in double figures in a season-best three straight games.