Hornets 104, Lakers 103: Al Jefferson had 21 points and 16 rebounds as Charlotte held off a strong push from visiting Los Angeles.

Gerald Henderson added 21 points and three steals for the Hornets, who moved into a tie for eighth in the Eastern Conference with the Brooklyn Nets. Mo Williams contributed 20 points and 13 assists, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 12 and Cody Zeller had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte.

Jeremy Lin had 23 points and eight assists to lead the Lakers. Jordan Clarkson added 19 points, Carlos Boozer had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Wesley Johnson and Jordan Hill contributed 10 points apiece off the bench for Los Angeles.

The Lakers tied the score four times in the fourth quarter but couldn’t get over the hump as Henderson broke the final deadlock with a 3-pointer with 4:43 remaining and his jumper stretched the lead to five with 2:54 on the clock. Lin committed his third turnover of the fourth quarter and Clarkson missed a tying 3-pointer before Williams doubled the lead to 98-92 with a 3 with one minute left, and Charlotte was able to close out the win at the foul line before Lin hit a 3 at the buzzer.

Lakers center Robert Sacre made two free throws with 10:57 left in the third quarter to tie the score at 52, but Los Angeles missed its first seven field-goal attempts to start the second half. The Hornets took advantage with a 12-1 run and took the game’s first double-digit lead at 64-53 on a three-point play by Zeller with 7:39 remaining in the third, and Los Angeles didn’t make its first basket of the second half until just past the midway point of the third quarter.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Charlotte had 19 fast-break points to set a season high for the second straight game. … Charlotte came in averaging a league-low 11.9 turnovers per game and the Hornets committed 12. … The Lakers played their third straight game without second-leading scorer Nick Young (knee).