John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports:
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In front of a crowd used to seeing LeBron James dominate opponents at Quicken Loans Arena, New Orleans Hornets rookie shooting guard Marcus Thornton upstaged the reigning league MVP and current scoring leader Tuesday night.
Thornton set a franchise record with a 23-point second quarter before finishing with a game- and career-high 37 on 15-of-22 shooting. Despite his career night, Thornton still ended up on the losing end as the Cleveland Cavaliers closed out the fourth quarter with a flurry to defeat the Hornets 105-95 before 20,562.
The loss snapped New Orleans’ two-game winning streak. The Hornets (30-27) entered trailing the Portland Trail Blazers by a game for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Cleveland ended a three-game losing streak.
