Jeremy Lin news: Charlotte Hornets beat LeBron James and Cavs as Lin scores 24 points

Jeremy Lin gave an incredible performance against LeBron James and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night, as the Charlotte Hornets earned an upset victory, 106-97.

The NBA Eastern Conference leaders were stung by the Hornets in a game wherein key players, gritty power forward Al Jefferson and starting point guard Kemba Walker, were sidelined due to injuries.

In the David vs. Goliath clash, the Hornets deployed a big come-from-behind second half that quashed the Cavaliers' offensive rhythm. Led by Lin's 11 points in the crucial third quarter in an overall 7-for-13 shooting, the Hornets maintained their buzz in an 8-0 run, ending the third with 82-75 in their favor.

The Cavaliers bench, however, was broken by a couple of James' dunks to the basket along with a long-ranged 26-footer bomb from power forward Kevin Love via a James assist in the fourth. But the effort was of little worth as the former Harvard standout, who went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft, nailed a jumper, making it 102-92 with two minutes running out the clock.

"Kemba, honestly, is irreplaceable. We all know that," Lin revealed to ESPN after he scored a team-high of 24 points and eight assists in 32 minutes. "[But] we feel like if everyone can chip in a little bit, we can try to make up for his absence." 

Teammate Nicholas Batum, who also came from the injured list, poured in 10 points, plus two crucial free throws in the dying minutes of the game. In a report from the Charlotte Observer, Hornet small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was given much praise for his defensive stoppage of James, limiting him to only 23 points.