Neither team led by more than three points in the frenetic final period. The game was tied six times in the fourth with the lead changing hands ten times. The Hornets moved ahead by three – 98-95 – with 47 seconds to play when Tyson Chandler scored on a put-back after two consecutive blocked shots by LeBron.

On the next possession, LeBron missed a short layup which was tapped in by Zydrunas Ilgauskas – who had a monster game, leading the Wine and Gold with a season-high 29 points to go with 15 rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Things were looking good when LeBron James sliced through the Hornets’ defense and dropped in the go-ahead bucket with 7.7 seconds remaining. James’ tough take gave the Cavaliers the 99-98 lead and the chance to win their tenth straight contest at home.

But on the Hornets’ final possession, superb Hornets guard Chris Paul found fellow All-Star, David West, who calmly drained the 17-footer from the top of the key with 0.6 seconds to play, handing the Cavaliers the 100-99 heart-breaker – Cleveland’s first loss at The Q in over a month.

“With seven seconds left, you still want to get a defensive stop,” explained James. “You know if you get a defensive stop then you win the ballgame and if not, then it’s possible that you’re going to lose.”

LeBron finished with 21 points, going 6-for-14 from the floor with eight dimes, three steals and a pair of steals and blocked shots. James was 8-for-10 from the stripe and just 1-of-2 from beyond the arc. The young King attempted just three shots in the final period.

In a battle of two very evenly-matched clubs, the Cavaliers and Hornets starting frontcourts did most of their teams’ damage. Anderson Varejeao – getting his second straight start in place of the injured Ben Wallace – doubled-up with 11 points and 15 points.

“This kind of game really stinks and you don’t forget about it easily,” said Ilgauskas. “It’s a home game and we battled hard to come back and take the lead and lost at the last second. It’s not a season-changing game, it’s not a playoff game, but when you lose like that it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”

The Cavaliers, as a team, outrebounded New Orleans – 48-33 – and dominated them in the paint – 56-30.

The Hornets frontcourt trio of West, Chandler and Peja Stojakovic was just as lethal. Stojakovic led New Orleans with 25 points – going 8-for-16 from the floor, including 6-of-9 from long distance. Including the game-winner, West netted 20 points and six boards. Tyson Chandler doubled-up with 13 points and 11 boards.

If the two frontcourts battled to a draw, it was Chris Paul who was the difference maker. The Hornets’ MVP candidate ran an incredible show for New Orleans – finishing with a game-high 20 assists to go with just a single turnover. Paul didn’t shoot the ball well – going just 5-for-17 – but he got plenty of shots for everyone else. New Orleans was 50 percent from three-point range.

“Chris Paul is an amazing talent,” praised Coach Mike Brown. “His shots weren’t going down tonight being, but he still found a way to impact the basketball game with his 20 assists.”

The only other Cavalier in double-figures was Sasha Pavlovic, who finished with 10 points on 5-for-10 shooting in just 24 minutes of floor time.

The Cavaliers will get in a couple days of practice before heading to Detroit for the first game of a weekend back-to-back beginning on Saturday night against the Pistons at the Palace.