CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It was a tale of two halves, and in the end the Charlotte Hornets prevailed.

The Hornets rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit for a wild 117-113 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, and they did it by turning up their defense in the second half -- particularly down the stretch.

After surrendering 73 points in the first half, the most they've given up in a half all season, the Hornets limited the Lakers to 40 second-half points and held Los Angeles to just two points in the final five minutes.

"They had 41 in the first quarter and then we did a lot better job and they had 40 in the second half, and that was really the story," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. "That and we made big plays late in the game. They're hard to play against. They can score and they got going early. But I thought our guys fought back well."

Nicolas Batum was the offensive hero at the end, hitting a 12-foot bank shot with 13.0 seconds left for a 115-113 lead and then tacking on two free throws with 6.0 seconds left for the final margin. The Lakers' Nick Young missed a 3-point attempt between those scores.

"When they gave me the ball, I was looking for Kemba (Walker) to get the ball back, but they were denying him," Batum said. "So he just told me, 'Just go, Nic, you got it.' I thought, 'Okay, this may be my chance to win the game.' I knew I had to do a better job tonight because I had a chance to close the game in Boston and I didn't do it. So I had to do it tonight."

The win allowed the Hornets (16-13) to maintain first place in the Southeast Division and was their second straight after a recent four-game losing streak. It matched their biggest comeback of the season.

Walker led the Hornets with 28 points and 10 assists. Batum added 23 points and 10 assists and was a plus-18 when he was on the floor. The Hornets also got 15 points from Marvin Williams, 13 points from Marco Belinelli - who hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter - and 11 points each from Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminsky.

Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with 25 points, hitting seven 3-pointers, including five in the first half. Young scored 24 with five 3-pointers. Lou Williams scored 16, D'Angelo Russell scored 15, Luol Deng scored 11 and Larry Nance Jr. finished with 10 before exiting in the third quarter with a knee injury.

The Lakers led 41-35 after the first quarter and were up 61-42 late in the second quarter before settling for a 73-59 halftime lead. The Lakers were 12 of 18 from 3-point range at that point and shot 58 percent from the field in the first half.

Clifford said there were no major changes at halftime, just more emphasis on defense.

"At halftime, we just went over two or three things they hurt us with," Clifford said. "It was mainly principles. There was no screaming, there was correcting. They were too open. There's a reason why they were hot. Clarkson was hot tonight, but Lou Williams and Nick Young, that's every night. If they get those quality shots, those guys are professional scorers. They've been doing it for years. Those guys are too good to be left that wide open. They'll do that every night."

The Lakers wound up shooting just 29.4 percent from the field in the fourth quarter. They led 111-105 following three free throws by Williams with 5:23 left, but the only points they scored the rest of the night came on a jumper by Young with 2:50 remaining. Los Angeles failed to score on its last five possessions.

"For most of the night we had done a great job of penetrating the defense and making the extra pass to open shooters, or backdoor cuts," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "Then at the end of the game it turned into guys were trying to make the big plays themselves instead of doing it with the team concept and ball movement. It's natural for young teams. It's why it's so hard to close games out, especially on the road. It was a good learning experience for us."

The Lakers (11-20) have now lost two straight and 10 of their last 11.

NOTES: The Lakers were without G Jose Calderon (strained hamstring) and F Tarik Black (sprained ankle). ... The Hornets are injury-free at present. ... The Hornets were returning home after a five-game road trip. They went 1-4 on the trip but ended it with a 107-99 win at Atlanta on Saturday. ... The Lakers were playing the fifth game on a seven-game, 12-day trip. They lost 119-108 at Cleveland on Saturday. ... The Lakers will close out the trip with games at Miami on Thursday and at Orlando on Friday. ... The Lakers lead the NBA in bench scoring, led by G Lou Williams at 18.9 ppg. ... Hornets C Roy Hibbert started 81 games for the Lakers last season, averaging 5.9 points and 4.9 rebounds. ... The Hornets will remain home to face Chicago on Friday.