LOS ANGELES -- Tempo and some clutch shots late by Kemba Walker made the difference for the Charlotte Hornets.

Walker scored 30 points and dished out seven assists, leading Charlotte to a 109-104 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center.

Frank Kaminsky scored 24 points and collected 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who won five in a row against the Lakers. Marvin Williams added 16 points for Charlotte (26-34).

"Our pace and play were really great tonight," said Walker, who made 9 of 18 shots and 5 of 9 from 3-point range. "Like I said, defensively, the plays we needed to make down the stretch we made them."

Julius Randle had 23 points, 18 rebounds and six assists for the Lakers (19-42), who lost five consecutive games. D'Angelo Russell also scored 23 and recorded nine assists, while Jordan Clarkson added 16 points. Nick Young contributed 15 points.

"We are proud of the way our guys played individually, but I think more importantly as a team," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "There weren't very many selfish plays. I felt like defensively we really gave a good effort, but there was just a lot of communication breakdown against a team that is pretty good at moving the ball side-to-side."

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Walker and Williams gave the Hornets a 103-98 edge with 1:08 remaining. Two foul shots by Kaminsky with 27.2 seconds left made it a seven-point lead, but two 3-pointers by Russell closed the gap to 107-104 with 14.3 seconds left.

Two free throws by Walker with 9.2 seconds remaining sealed it.

"This is a pretty important win for us," said Walker, whose team is 3-13 over the past 16 games. "We wanted to go out there and do the things necessary to win this game. It feels good that we got a chance to execute down the stretch."

The Hornets prevailed despite an off-night by Nicolas Batum, who scored five points -- 10 under his average -- on 2-of-13 shooting from the floor and 1 for 9 from beyond the arc.

However, Charlotte's fourth-quarter put the Hornets over the top.

"That's what the fourth quarter's about," Kaminsky said. "It's about getting stops, making the right plays and executing on offense, and I think we did that well tonight."

The Hornets used a 16-2 run to open the second quarter for a 43-33 lead after a jumper by Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. However, the Lakers responded with a 13-3 spurt to tie the score at 46 on a bucket inside by Randle.

Charlotte led 58-55 at halftime.

"I think we were fortunate because they had a number of open shots in transition in the first half with good shooters that I think they normally make," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "We're lucky. I think we had eight (turnovers), and they had good shots and they missed them. In that part, the ball bounced our way."

The Hornets made 16 of 39 from long distance compared to 12 of 32 for the Lakers. The Lakers, though, outshot the Hornets from the floor 48.8 percent to 44.7 percent.

"We keep building on everyone playing as hard as they possibly can no matter how long they're out there knowing you have another guy coming in willing to do the same," Russell said. "The mistakes and everything we did wrong tonight will slowly get better."

Charlotte center Cody Zeller returned to the lineup after missing six games with quad soreness. Zeller had six points and five rebounds in 18 minutes.

NOTES: The losses have taken their toll on Luke Walton, but despite some sleepless nights, the first-year Lakers coach said he remains excited about the future. "I just remind myself of the big picture and what a great job this is and getting to work with these young guys," Walton said. ... The ability to defend is why the Lakers called up G/F David Nwaba from the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League, Walton said. Nwaba made his Lakers debut, playing a scoreless five minutes. ... Lakers F Thomas Robinson missed the game because of the flu. ... Hornets C Miles Plumlee (right calf strain) sat out his fifth consecutive game. ... In the teams' previous meeting, the Hornets earned a 117-113 victory over the Lakers on Dec. 20 at Charlotte. ... Charlotte visits the Phoenix Suns on Thursday. ... Los Angeles hosts the Boston Celtics on Friday.