CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Raymond Felton scored 23 points Saturday night to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 92-88 victory over Cleveland, their first win over the Cavaliers in eight tries.

Cleveland owned the Bobcats the past two seasons behind LeBron James, who averaged 34 points over the last three meetings and seemingly scored at will against the young franchise.

Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) shoots over Charlotte Bobcats' Sean May during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 4, 2006 in Charlotte, N.C. [AP]

It wasn't expected to change in this game, either, with Cleveland coming off Friday night's impressive win at San Antonio and Charlotte still looking for its first victory this season.

But James, who scored 35 against the Spurs, never got into a rhythm and was held to just 16 points. He shot just 3-of-13 from the floor as rookie Adam Morrison kept him off balance, forcing James to get his points at the free-throw line, where he made nine of his 10 attempts.

James also gave the Cavs a serious scare in the final minute of the game when Larry Hughes swatted a loose ball back into play, and James and Brevin Knight collided as they went for it. James dropped to the court in a heap, and Cleveland coach Mike Brown rushed out to check on his star.

James eventually got up, cringing, and returned to play.

But it was far too late for the Cavs, who couldn't slow the Bobcats during the second half as they fell short of opening the season 3-0 for the first time since 2000-01.

Knight scored 17 for the Bobcats, while Sean May added 14 points. Morrison chipped in 13 and Emeka Okafor had 12.

Drew Gooden led Cleveland with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Donyell Marshall had 14 each and Hughes finished with 12 points.

The Cavs opened a 12-point lead in the first half, but Charlotte chipped away to cut it to 50-46 at halftime - in large part due to a mistake by Marshall as time was running out. As Felton threw up a 3-point attempt, Marshall fouled him to send Felton to the line for three free throws with .4 seconds on the clock.

Felton hit all three to send Charlotte to the locker room on a high.

Charlotte remained hot through the third quarter, with Felton and Gerald Wallace hitting back-to-back 3s to tie it at 52. Gooden put the Cavs back on top with a free throw and a 17-footer, but Charlotte stayed with them and the game was tied at 63 with 3:02 to play in the third.

Then Morrison hit a fadeaway jumper, May scored on a pretty finger roll and followed it with a long jumper for a 69-63 Charlotte lead.

The Bobcats continued that pace into the fourth quarter, getting five points from Okafor in a 12-2 run that gave them an 81-73 lead with 7:43 to play in the game. They never looked back from there, leading by as many as seven as Cleveland threw up bricks in a futile attempt to get back in it.

Notes:@ Morrison was called for a technical, the first of his NBA career, for arguing a call in the third quarter. ... The Bobcats sold extra seats for the game, making the crowd of 19,147 the largest in the arena's short history. ... Paul Silas, who coached in Cleveland and Charlotte, sat in the stands but wouldn't participate when he was featured on the "Kiss Cam." ... David Wesley, a former member of the Hornets when they played in Charlotte, spent pregame collecting tickets from teammates to accommodate his friends and family that still live in the area. ... Actors Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman were seated at the end of Cleveland's bench.