CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Hornets would have been happy with any kind of win Wednesday night, and they got it in the form of a 107-85 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at the Spectrum Center.

But this wasn't just the end of a five-game losing streak.

It marked a return to form defensively for a team that had given up more than 100 points in each of the last eight games.

The Hornets held the Blazers to 35.1 percent shooting from the field and forced 16 turnovers that they converted into 21 points. The Blazers were 8 for 31 from 3-point range.

"Tonight, we defended," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. "We showed tonight that we're capable of playing really good defense against a really good offensive team. They're the ninth-best offensive team in the NBA, so it shows that when we're concentrating on what we're doing, we're more than capable. That's our challenge. That's what we have to do."

The Hornets (21-21) were returning home after going winless on a five-game road trip. Their 108-98 loss at Boston on Monday night had dropped them below the .500 mark and outside the top eight in the Eastern Conference standings for the first time this season.

They trailed after one quarter, but dominated the rest of the way and ended it impressively, outscoring Portland 28-13 in the fourth quarter.

"I almost forgot what it felt like to win," Hornets guard Kemba Walker said. "It's been a while, but it feels good, especially here at home. I thought we did a great job. We came out with great intensity from the beginning of the game and I thought we did a great job on both ends of the floor for 48 minutes. Defensively, we were on it, on our games. We were in the right spots all night communicating."

Walker led the Hornets with 23 points, with four 3-pointers. Nicolas Batum flirted with another triple-double again with 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. And the Hornets got plenty of production from their bench. Roy Hibbert scored 16 points, Marco Belinelli scored 13, and Frank Kaminsky finished with 11.

The Hornets' bench outscored the Blazers' reserves 44-22.

"The bench play was terrific tonight," Clifford said. "Obviously that was Roy's best game (as a Hornet). He moved better tonight and he brought a level of basket protection and physicality to the game. But all the guys played really well."

The Blazers (18-26) lost their third straight.

Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but was 7 for 18 from the field. The only other Portland player in double figures was C.J. McCollum with 18 points.

Some of the Blazers were absolutely dreadful. The bench trio of Noah Vonleh, Allen Crabbe and Meyers Leonard combined to go 6 of 25 from the field, and that was aided by some late baskets after the Hornets led by as many as 25.

Portland coach Terry Stotts felt that the game got away from his team after the Hornets scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter. Charlotte led 79-72 entering the fourth quarter.

"We had battled back and won the third quarter, which was encouraging, but then their run put us back in the hole," Stotts said. "We never got ourselves out of it."

"It was a game where we just got outdone in a lot of things," Lillard said. "I thought we did a great job as a team of just staying with it even when the shots weren't falling and the game wasn't going our way. We finished the third and we cut it to seven and when you cut the game to seven, in my mind I'm going to the bench saying, 'All right, now we're going to be able to make a game of it and make a push. But they got on a run and kind of blew the game open up again."

NOTES: The Blazers were without C Festus Ezeli (knee) and F Ed Davis (ankle). ... The Hornets were without G Jeremy Lamb (metatarsal inflammation). ... The Blazers were playing the second contest of a four-game Eastern trip. They opened the trek with a 120-101 loss at Washington on Monday. ... The Hornets were opening a five-game homestand. They'll play three home games in four days. ... The Hornets' disastrous road trip included losses to Detroit, San Antonio, Houston, Philadelphia and Boston. ... The teams meet again in Portland on Jan. 31. ... The Blazers continue their trip in Philadelphia on Friday. ... The Hornets host Toronto on Friday.