Charlotte Bobcats
Lakers-Bobcats
Jones, traded from the Lakers to Charlotte in late October, played the entire game as if he was trying to show Los Angeles what it let get away. He made all six of his shots in the first quarter to help the Bobcats open a 40-25 lead they never relinquished. Jones shot 13-of-20, made five 3-pointers, and had nine rebounds to pace Charlotte. The Bobcats had a plan to contain Kobe Bryant, and did it when it mattered. Although Bryant finished with 35 points, he didn't make a basket in the fourth quarter. He went 0-for-3 with the game on the line, scoring just four points in the quarter on free throws. Bryant also had seven turnovers in the game. Playing without Lamar Odom, who sat out with sprained ribs, the Lakers lacked a sufficient supporting cast. Devean George replaced Odom in the lineup, but had just 12 points and five rebounds. Primoz Brezec finished with 22 points for Charlotte, which had not won a game since a double-overtime victory over Houston on Jan. 10. Raymond Felton had 16 points, Brevin Knight had 15 points and 10 assists and Melvin Ely finished with 11. Smush Parker had 19 points for the Lakers and Chris Mihm added 15. Although the Bobcats led from start to finish, they couldn't maintain the frantic pace they opened the game with. Stars Emeka Okafor and Gerald Wallace are on Charlotte's long injured list, leaving the Bobcats with a cast of supporting players to try to fend off the Lakers. Los Angeles began its comeback in the second quarter when Bryant scored seven points in a 12-3 run that Los Angeles capped with Parker's 3-pointer. That cut Charlotte's lead to 59-53 with eight seconds to play in the half. Knight added a pair of free throws before the break to send Charlotte into the locker room up 61-53. Tempers flared in the third quarter when Bryant twice elbowed Ely in the stomach as he tried to move around him. Ely responded with a hard push to Bryant's chest and the two had to be separated by their teammates. Bryant and Ely were each hit with technical fouls, and the crowd that had been pro-Bryant at the start of the game slowly began to turn on him. That changed as the third quarter went on, though, and Bryant began to put on a show. He had 15 points in the period and, after taking a pass from Luke Walton at the foul line, move back to the 3-point line and drained the shot to cut Charlotte's lead to 86-84 with 28 seconds to play. The Bobcats got a pair of free throws from Felton to make it 88-84 headed into the final quarter and held off the Lakers the rest of the way. |
Cavaliers-Bobcats
LeBron James scored 30 points in only three quarters to lead the Cavaliers to a 103-91 victory over the gimpy Bobcats on Monday night. It was Cleveland’s sixth straight win, four of which came on the road - the most since the Cavs’ won five straight away games in April 1998. ``One of the things I pointed out to the guys was that it was a good win against Phoenix, but if we turn around and go to Charlotte and lose that ballgame, then beating Phoenix the night before doesn’t really mean anything,’’ coach Mike Brown said. ``Our guys were focused enough to come into the building and get a W.’’ The Cavaliers improved to 5-0 against the Bobcats and extended Charlotte’s franchise record losing streak to 12 games. The Bobcats have not won a game since a double overtime win against Houston on Jan. 10. But things could change for them on Wednesday when they host the Atlanta Hawks - the only Eastern Conference team the Bobcats have a winning record against (4-1). ``The reality is the teams we are playing are better basketball teams than we are,’’ Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. ``I do think with all our components, we’d be a pretty good basketball team. I have no reservations about that.’’ James, who scored 44 in Sunday’s win over Phoenix, continued his trend of improving every time he plays against the Bobcats. In all five meetings, he’s steadily increased his scoring from 19 points in the first game to 30 this time out. ``This was an important game,’’ James said. ``We didn’t want to win a big game like we did yesterday, and come in here and not play as well as we can. We took care of business early, got a big lead and just extended it.’’ James shot 11-of-19, including an alley-oop dunk from Eric Snow that warmed the crowd up and a third-quarter reverse dunk on a breakaway that brought the fans to their feet. Earlier Monday, James said he declined the NBA’s request to participate in the All-Star dunk contest. James, who will compete in the All-Star skills challenge, said he’s not a good enough dunker to put on a show. ``I don’t predetermine what I’m going to do,’’ he said. ``That’s why I’m not a good dunk participant. I don’t know what I’m going to do until I jump.’’ With Cleveland leading 83-57 at the end of the third quarter, James pulled on a blue T-shirt and settled in on the bench to watch the final 12 minutes. With under a minute left, he gave his headband to a little boy wearing a James jersey sitting along the baseline. ``I’ve been struggling with playing LeBron too many minutes and I haven’t gotten comfortable sitting him down yet,’’ Brown said. ``It was good to limit his playing time a little bit today.’’ James disagreed. ``I’d rather play, but with us being up that many points, there’s no need for me to be out there,’’ he said. Zydrunas Ilgauskas finished with 19 points, Donyell Marshall had 14 and Drew Gooden had 12 rebounds. Alan Anderson led Charlotte with 14 points, while Melvin Ely and Matt Carroll scored 12 each. Jumaine Jones had 11. Cleveland held a 15-point lead early in the second quarter, only to see Charlotte trim it to 39-32. So the Cavaliers put the ball in James’ hands to retake control of the game. James scored seven straight points - two long jumpers, a driving layup and a free throw - in a 9-0 run that gave Cleveland a 49-32 lead. It sapped what little energy the injury-depleted Bobcats had and they never made another run the rest of the game. ``Injuries are part of the game,’’ guard Brevin Knight said. ``We need all our pieces to win, but we’ll keep fighting and we can turn this thing around and get a win.’’ The Bobcats got a slight lift in the second quarter when Kareem Rush returned after missing 13 games with a sprained index finger. Rush shook off the rust 8 seconds after checking in by making a 21-foot jumper. He finished with nine points. But his return coincided with yet another player going out - guard Raymond Felton, the only Bobcat to play in all 46 games this season. The rookie landed hard on his backside in the first half. Although he came back briefly in the second half, he left with back spasms. Felton finished with just three points in 12 minutes before joining four other injured Bobcats on the sidelines. ``He didn’t want to come out tonight, but I think that is where we have to use some discretion so he can live to fight another day,’’ Bickerstaff said. |
Pistons 103, Bobcats 78
Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff thought the Bobcats would have to play a near perfect game to beat Detroit. When they came out flat, it was more than Bickerstaff could stand to watch.
Chauncey Billups had 21 points and 12 assists and the Pistons routed the Bobcats 103-78 on Saturday night to improve to an NBA-best 18-3 - the best 21-game mark in franchise history.
Richard Hamilton added 15 points and Ben Wallace had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons, 11-2 on the road.
``The effort early in that game was probably the worst I’ve ever seen from a Bobcat team. It appeared we were in awe,’’ said Bickerstaff, who was ejected for picking up two technical fouls late in the first half. ``But they’re good. I really don’t see any weaknesses.’’
Primoz Brezec had 17 points and Emeka Okafor added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Bobcats, who shot 35 percent and scored a franchise-low 26 points in the first half.
Charlotte won two of three games against Detroit last season and was coming off a two-day break, while the Pistons played Friday night at home. But the Bobcats were never in it, falling behind 14-4, and 21-12 after the first quarter. Charlotte missed 15 of its first 21 shots.
Defensively, the Bobcats changed up assignments and even played some zone, but nothing worked as the Pistons methodically built their lead. Billups’ 3-point play with 10.8 seconds in the first half made it 49-26 as Detroit hardly eased up on the second-year Bobcats.
``Just because they have a losing record, for us to come in here and think we’re going to steamroll these cats, that’s when we lose,’’ Wallace said.
Bickerstaff didn’t have to watch the second half from the bench. He was ejected after referee Eli Roe gave him back-to-back technical fouls with 1:59 left in the first half, seconds after Roe called a 3-second violation against Okafor. Bickerstaff’s son, 26-year-old John-Blair Bickerstaff, then ran the team as the Bobcats lost for the ninth time in 10 games.
``It was probably a combination of being (upset) with our guys because they weren’t competing - and obviously I better leave the other part alone,’’ Bernie Bickerstaff said. ``I’ve paid enough tonight.’’
Detroit, which led by as many as 27 points in the fourth quarter, shot 51 percent. And Billups again led the way in what he’s calling his best season.
``I’m playing the best I’ve ever played right now,’’ Billups said. ``I have that freedom to run the show. I know the offense inside and out, I know where people are going to be. Things are really good right now.’’
Charlotte starting small forward Gerald Wallace returned after missing two games with a sprained right index finger, but got into early foul trouble and was ineffective. He was scoreless in 13 minutes.
Bobcats point guard Brevin Knight sat out the fourth quarter because of a bruised right forearm.
``I would just like to apologize. The whole team ought to apologize to the fans,’’ Brezec said. ``We didn’t put up a fight tonight. It was embarrassing.’’
Notes: Bobcats forward Melvin Ely missed the game with flu-like symptoms. ``The guys were teasing him, saying he has the (Rasheed) Wallace flu,’’ Bickerstaff said. ... Pistons coach Flip Saunders acknowledged the uninspired play of late from reserve Darko Milicic. ``I’ve noticed the same thing you’ve noticed,’’ Saunders said. ... The crowd of 19,026 was the Bobcats’ second sellout, and the first since opening night. ... Even in Charlotte the campaign against embattled Detroit Lions president Matt Millen is alive and well. One fan in the upper deck held a ``Fire Millen’’ sign
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