Jeremy Lin stepped up big time for the Charlotte Hornets, leading his team to an impressive 106-97 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Lin, who is playing in his first season in Charlotte after signing a two-year contract last summer, finished with 24 points to go along with eight assists and five rebounds. The former Harvard University standout took a bigger responsibility with Kemba Walker out with a knee injury.

"Kemba, honestly, is irreplaceable. We all know that," Lin told reporters, via NBA.com. "But we feel like if everyone can chip in a little bit, we can try to make up for his absence."

Lin sparked a huge rally in the second half, helping the Hornets erase a nine-point deficit at the half. The Cavaliers were still ahead by two halfway through the third period but Lin had a three-point play to give the Hornets the lead in the 6:08 mark.

The Hornets were able to sustain the momentum and led by as much as 15 points, 98-83 with less than 5 minutes to play in the game. Charlotte did not look back, ending their 21-game losing skid against a LeBron James-led team. According to ESPN, the Hornets last won against a James-led squad on Feb. 20, 2010 against the Cavaliers.

"We fought hard, and the bench play in both halves was really good," Hornets coach Steve Clifford after the game. "We were much more balanced than we've been. We've won some games where we were good on offense and some where we were really good on defense, but tonight we were good on both."

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who played in his third game this season after recovering from a shoulder injury, also had a productive night, finishing with a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Rookie Frank Kaminsky added 15 points and six rebounds.

Marvin Williams chipped in 16 points and four boards, while Nicolas Batum racked up 10 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists for the Hornets, who improved to 24-25 but are still ninth in the Eastern Conference standings.

On the other hand, Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers with 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting, while LeBron James posted 23 points on top of six rebounds and six assists. The Cavaliers, who were on a five-game winning run before the match, had another disappointing third-quarter performance, as they were outscored 33-17.

"That's the third game in a row where we have struggled to come out in the third quarter," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. "We have to do something to adjust that situation."