The Charlotte Hornets, who continue to desperately fight for a playoff spot out East, came into Tuesday night’s game only a half game out of the eighth seed. They bested the Los Angeles Lakers in a closely contested game, 104-103, to now tie the Brooklyn Nets for the final playoff spot.

Both the Lakers and Hornets played evenly in the first half, going into intermission all tied up at 50. The guard play for the Lakers was phenomenal, as Jordan Clarkson and Jeremy Lin combined for 16 points, nine assists, and zero turnovers in the first half, genuinely controlling the game.

Mo Williams was stellar on the other side of the ball, as he put in 20 points and 13 assists for the game. He has been absolutely incredible since being traded to Charlotte a few days before the trade deadline, averaging over 23 points and seven assists in six games played.

The Lakers started the second half with their typical lackadaisical third quarter effort. They went down by 11 points five minutes into the third period. However, this time, they were able to weather the storm and climb back into it, cutting the deficit to four heading into the final period.

The fourth quarter saw a back and forth, intense battle between the two teams. Jeremy Lin, who started the game off facilitating more, began to take over offensively for L.A. He scored 13 of his game-high 23 points in the final stanza, but Mo Williams had an answer on the other end, whether it was with his play making or scoring.

With the Lakers only down three with a minute left, Williams drained a dagger three-point bucket to make it a two possession game. Los Angeles continued to battle, though, as they started playing the fouling game, but Charlotte hit just enough free throws to ice the game and earn a one point victory.

Lin concluded the night with 23 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and two steals on 9 of 16 shooting. He has been extremely consistent since the All-Star break, which is what the team was looking for from him earlier in the season.

Jordan Clarkson continued his brilliance, pitching in 19 points and four assists on 9 of 19 shooting. Meanwhile, Carlos Boozer, who was benched the entire fourth quarter, quietly posted a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lakers were getting pounded in the paint early in this game, as the Hornets had a 34-14 advantage in the painted area late in the second quarter. But L.A. was able to cool down Charlotte the rest of the way, only allowing 10 more paint points while scoring 20 of their own.

Both teams were significantly clean in this one, but the Hornets shot a little better from the field, making 49.4 percent of their shots compared to the Lakers’ 45.3 percent.

Al Jefferson notched a huge double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds to go with three steals. Gerald Henderson added 21 points of his own to go along with five assists and three steals.

All Charlotte starters scored in double-figures, but their bench was atrocious, scoring just 20 points. The Lakers bench was, as always, amazing, scoring 49 points. Nick Young, though, missed his fourth consecutive game with a knee injury.

The Hornets improved their record to 25-33 and are now tied with the Nets for the eighth seed, but Brooklyn owns the tiebreaker. They are also only a half-game behind the seventh seeded Miami Heat. Charlotte’s next game, in fact, comes against the aforementioned Nets team tomorrow, March 4th, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. That should make for an interesting battle between two teams seeking the eighth seed in the East.

The Lakers slipped to 16-43 with the loss and are still 14th in the West at 16-43. They, too, have a quick turnaround, as they play the Miami Heat tomorrow night in which the Lakers have a chance to set the Heat back in the playoff race if they win.