CLEVELAND: A lineup the Cavaliers haven’t used at all this season was good enough to overtake and fend off the surging Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. And they did it while Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love remained on the bench.
Channing Frye made five of the Cavs’ 14 3-pointers in their 100-93 win over the Hornets, making the Cavs the first team in history to make at least 10 3-pointers in each of their first nine games. Yet coach Tyronn Lue still doesn’t think they’re playing up to their potential.
“I think we can shoot better,” Lue said. “It’s been sporadic.”
Frye scored 20 points off the bench and LeBron James scored 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds and passed for eight assists. James’ 3-pointer in the final minute extended the Cavs’ lead to nine and handed the Hornets their second consecutive loss.
Irving scored 19 points, and Love scored 17 and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Cavs. Neither star played in the fourth quarter, however, because Lue stuck with a lineup of James, Frye, Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson and Jordan McRae.
The Cavs trailed 72-71 entering the fourth, but Shumpert and Frye made 3-pointers to give the Cavs the lead. Frye’s second 3-pointer of the quarter extended the lead to 89-80 with 5:43 to play and he followed it up with a mid-range jumper to push the lead to double figures. Eleven of Frye’s 20 points came in the fourth quarter. Shumpert matched his season-high with 15 points off the bench.
“Shumpert shot the ball well, which you’re going to have to live with on their team,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “But Frye can’t get those shots if you’re going to win. He’s a professional scorer and has been for a long time. LeBron kept looking for him, and we didn’t react.”
Kemba Walker scored 21 points for the Hornets and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist returned from a strained back to score 11 points and grab 10 rebounds. After starting the year 6-1, the Hornets have lost their past two games to the Raptors and Cavs — the two teams considered the best in the East after meeting in the conference finals last season.
The Hornets went cold in the fourth, making just 8-of-24 shots. Walker was so frustrated by the loss, he sat in front of his locker in his uniform shorts for more than 20 minutes.
“We just let the game get away from us,” he said. “They made some great plays and just found guys when they needed to. They were just making big plays down the stretch.”
McRae was getting a chance to play for the Cavs because J.R. Smith sat out with a sore right ankle he suffered during Friday’s win in Washington. That moved Mike Dunleavy into the starting lineup and moved McRae into the rotation for at least one night. Lue liked the rhythm the reserves played with and stuck with them even after the Hornets pulled within four in the final two minutes.
The Cavs broke the 3-point shooting record set by the Houston Rockets, who made at least 10 3-pointers in their first eight games to open the 2014-15 season. The Cavs began the day ranked second in the league in 3-pointers made, averaging 13.1 per game.
“I think we’re hitting the open man, we’re making good cuts,” Frye said. “I think the fact we’re constantly attacking the rim, guys help, we kick out. We have maybe five 40 percent 3-point shooters on our team right now. We’re just passing to the open guy, the ball follows energy, so we’re just playing good ball.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.