CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Down to 12 healthy players, the Charlotte Bobcats have signed small forward Jamario Moon for the rest of the season.
The 6-foot-8 Moon fills the roster spot created when Charlotte cut Boris Diaw last month. A 4-year NBA veteran, Moon has spent time with Toronto, Miami, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Clippers. This season he averaged 17.7 points in the NBA’s development league for the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
The move Saturday helps fill the void left by injuries to Corey Maggette and Eduardo Najera, who are out for the season. Maggette strained his Achilles tendon, while Najera broke a bone in his forehead.
Moon is expected to join the Bobcats (7-51) for Sunday night’s home game against the Boston Celtics.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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The game’s greatest player has become one of its most curious owners, a fanatical competitor who can’t field a competitive team. At 49, he is the most recognizable part of the franchise, but the basketball world questions how active he wants to be as an executive, much as it did during his time with the Wizards in Washington.
“The work he put in to be a great player and the work you put in to be a great executive, those are different things,” said Sam Vincent, whom Jordan hired as his head coach in 2007 less than a year after he became minority owner. “That additional time you spend on jump shots, running, dunking, I don’t know if he puts in that same amount of time as an executive or if he even cares to.”
The New York Daily News cited an unnamed source last week in reporting that Jordan might be preparing to walk away from the franchise if it can’t win soon. He became majority owner just two years ago. Jordan hasn’t granted an interview this year, but the team immediately issued a denial from its owner: “I am 100 percent committed to building the Bobcats into a contender and have no plans to sell the team.”
In the meantime, his squad continues to lose. Monday night pits the Bobcats, owners of a 7-47 record, against the NBA’s second-worst team. The Wizards are 12-44, and both teams are vying for better position in the draft lottery as the season winds down.
Jordan’s brief tenure as an executive with the Wizards was dismal. In his fifth full season with the Bobcats, he’s yet to improve on that record. The Charlotte community has been reluctant to embrace the franchise, and many NBA scouts say the Bobcats’ roster features the worst collection of talent in the league.
“It gets to you,” Paul Silas, Charlotte’s current head coach, said of the losing. “Yes, there is a plan. You have to look at that also. But we’re dealing with the day to day. . . . It’s still tough for us. We want to do well. We want to win. That’s what I tell my players: We’re not in the basketball business. We’re in the win business.”
Shortly after he was hired, Vincent recalled, he would go to rotary clubs and business luncheons around Charlotte and inevitably hear the same questions, many shaped by the decision of the city’s previous NBA franchise, the Hornets, and their owner, George Shinn, to move to New Orleans in 2002.
“They wanted to know, how committed is Michael to the community? Has he bought a house here? That kind of stuff,” Vincent said. “It appeared to me that the relationship Michael had started off good, but somewhere it just really soured. I felt a big part of the reason why we could never get the support back then — and still today — there was so much damage from the relationship fans had with the previous ownership.”
Charlotte Bobcats head coach Paul Silas reacts during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, April 7, 2012.
Chuck Burton, Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew likes his team’s focus as it makes a final push toward the playoffs.
The Hawks, who are a half-game behind Indiana in the race for the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, got 18 points from Joe Johnson on 8-of-10 shooting and 57 points from their bench to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 116-96 on Saturday night.
Although the Hawks stumbled out of the gates in the first quarter Saturday night, they regrouped and took care of business against the NBA-worst Bobcats by scoring a season-high 68 points in the second half.
“We can’t have any mental letdowns,” Drew said, looking ahead to the final nine regular-season games. “Here we are with nine games to go and we’ve shown that we can be a pretty good ballclub. But any coach is looking for that consistency heading down the stretch. This is no time to let up and to not finish the regular season on a strong note so we can carry some momentum into the playoffs.”
Zaza Pachulia had 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Hawks, while Jannero Pargo had 15 points and nine assists and Ivan Johnson added 17 points off the bench.
The Hawks have overcome their fair share of adversity and appear to be on the right path.
“I’m real happy about it,” Drew said, “considering what we’ve gone through this season and looking at the stretches of the road games and the injuries. We’ve weathered a major storm. There’s some games we felt we should’ve won that we let slip through the cracks. But still, looking at where we are and looking at what happened from an injury standpoint, I think we’re very fortunate to be in the position we’re in.”
Said Ivan Johnson: “We’re already in playoff mode.”
The Hawks broke open the game in the third quarter by shooting 17 of 23 from the field while scoring a season-high 38 points. They won their third straight and remained in second place in the Southeast Division, ahead of the struggling Orlando Magic.
“We’ve faced a lot of adversity and a grueling schedule,” said Josh Smith, who had 15 points. “We have persevered with a big injury to a major guy who impacts this basketball team in so many ways in Al Horford. We’ve fought through that and guys have come in and stepped up and contributed big minutes.”
The Hawks scored 56 points in the paint and outrebounded the Bobcats 42-31.
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Josh Smith scored 24 points, Jeff Teague added 17 and the Atlanta Hawks beat the woeful Charlotte Bobcats 120-93 on Wednesday night.
Joe Johnson finished with 16 points for Atlanta, which had lost three of four. Hawks coach Larry Drew rested all of his starters in the fourth quarter.
Rookie Kemba Walker came off the bench to lead Charlotte with 21 points. Gerald Henderson added 15 for the Bobcats, whose NBA-worst record dropped to 7-45. They have lost nine straight.
Willie Green scored 17, Marvin Williams had 14 and Jannero Pargo finished with 12 in reserve roles for the Hawks.
Charlotte never led after Smith’s short hook shot put Atlanta up 17-16 midway through the first.
Atlanta pulled away by outscoring the Bobcats 34-19 in the second quarter.
Teague split two defenders to covert a three-point play at the 3:35 mark of the second to make it 53-39.
Driving from left side of the perimeter, Teague left his feet for a layup, but had his first attempt nearly blocked. He pulled the ball back down, though, and floated toward the baseline to bank in the shot.
Smith, who followed with a 20-foot jump shot at the 2-minute mark to give the Hawks a 16-point lead, beat Eduardo Najera for a defensive rebound in the final minute and made a one-handed pass to Johnson at halfcourt. Joe Johnson passed to Ivan Johnson for dunk that made it 59-42.
D.J. Augustin started for the 39th time in his 41 games despite falling and hurting his left knee in the Bobcats’ five-point loss Tuesday at Toronto. Augustin, who managed just two points in less than 11 minutes, was already battling tendinitis in his right knee.
Coach Paul Silas said before the game that Augustin is still Charlotte’s starting point guard, though Walker got the nod against Toronto. Walker played 33 minutes against Atlanta, second-most on the team.
Charlotte center Byron Mullens, who pulled down a career-best 14 rebounds Tuesday at Toronto, finished with seven rebounds. The third-year center had 20 points in each of the past two games, but finished with eight.
Hawks center Zaza Pachulia had a game-high 11 rebounds.
Matt Carroll scored 12 points, Derrick Brown had 11 and Reggie Williams 10 for the Bobcats.
Notes: Hawks coach Larry Drew had everyone on his roster available except for C Al Horford (left pectoral surgery) and Vladimir Radmanovich (back). Pargo, who missed 10 games with an appendectomy, played 16 minutes. … Bobcats F Corey Maggette missed his third straight game with a strained right Achilles tendon. He also missed a combined 20 games with strained left hamstring and bruised back.
Read More: Marvin Williams (F – ATL), Josh Smith (F – ATL), Jannero Pargo (G – ATL), Reggie Williams (F – CHA), Gerald Henderson (G – CHA), Jeff Teague (G – ATL), Byron Mullens (F – CHA), Kemba Walker (G – CHA), Charlotte Bobcats, Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks got a big first half from Josh Smith and lead the Charlotte Bobcats 61-44 at halftime. After taking a 27-25 lead at the end of the first quarter, Atlanta exploded in the second outscoring Charlotte 34-19 to take control.
Josh Smith continued is splendid play hitting eight of 11 shots for 18 points. Smith also has six rebounds and three assists. Jeff Teague added 13 points and three assists while Marvin Williams scored seven off the bench.
Kemba Walker was just about the lone bright spot for the Bobcats scoring 11 points off the bench in the first half. Gerald Henderson, Reggie Williams and Byron Mullens finished the half with eight points each.
Atlanta hit 60 percent of its shots in the first half as they had their way with the Charlotte defense. Jannero Pargo made his return to action after having an appendectomy a little over two weeks ago. Pargo played three minutes and handed out two assists in the first half.
For more on this game Hawks fans should check out Peachtree Hoops and Bobcats fans should visit Rufus On Fire. For more news and notes from around the NBA head over to SB Nation’s NBA Basketball Page.
TORONTO — Andrea Bargnani had an answer for everything the Charlotte Bobcats did in the fourth quarter.
Bargnani scored 11 of his 30 points in the fourth, DeMar DeRozan had 20 and the Toronto Raptors beat Charlotte 92-87 Tuesday night, snapping a six-game losing streak to the lowly Bobcats.
“Every time we made a shot, (Bargnani) came down and made a big play,” Bobcats guard Kemba Walker said. “That was really the key to their win.”
Bargnani scored Toronto’s final nine points and the Raptors won back-to-back games for the first time since road victories at Phoenix on Jan. 24 and Utah on Jan. 25. Toronto had gone 0-10 in games following victories since those wins.
“Andrea and DeMar carried us down the stretch,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.
The 30 points were the most by Bargnani since he returned March 20 after a 20-game absence caused by a strained left hamstring.
“I feel better,” he said. “Every day I get better. I just have to keep working and keep playing hard.”
Linas Kleiza scored 18 points and Jose Calderon added 11 assists for Toronto, which beat Washington 99-92 on Sunday night to post consecutive home wins for the first time since Dec. 1 and 3, 2010.
“We were 0-2 against (Charlotte) so it was a great win for us,” Bargnani said.
Byron Mullens had 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds and D.J. Augustin scored 18 points and Charlotte lost its eighth straight. The Bobcats have not won since a home victory over the Raptors on March 17.
“If you want to be a good team in this league, you’re going to have to win games at the end,” Charlotte’s Gerald Henderson said. “We just came up a little bit short.”
Derrick Brown had 12 points and Walker scored 10 for the Bobcats, whose 7-44 record is the NBA’s worst.
Walker started in place of Augustin, who has been bothered by tendinitis in his right knee and was forced to miss Monday’s practice. For Walker, it was his first start since Feb. 15. That was also the last time Augustin came off the bench, as he returned after missing 11 games with a sore toe.
Bobcats coach Paul Silas praised Mullens for his hard work on the boards.
“He just continues to amaze me,” Silas said. “Twenty points and 14 rebounds, I don’t think anybody would have guessed he could have done that. He just has to keep doing it. I’m very pleased with him. He’s playing a lot better than I ever thought he could.”
CHARLOTTE, NC (Charlotte Business Journal) – Charlotte Bobcats majority owner Michael Jordan refuted a media report that claimed he had an exit strategy to sell the NBA team if it could not begin making a profit.
“I was disturbed to hear the false report that I intend to sell my majority interest in the Charlotte Bobcats,” Jordan said in a statement released on Sunday. “I am 100% committed to building the Bobcats into a contender and have no plans to sell the team.”
Jordan is chairman of Bobcats Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Charlotte Bobcats and operates Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena.
The New York Daily News reported on Saturday that Jordan had told team executives to create a rebuilding plan and that if it doesn’t work over the next several seasons he would consider his exit options.
Jordan bought the team in 2010 and helped spur gains in sponsorship sales and attendance. Despite those improvements gains, losses grew to $25.5 million from $20 million, based on Forbes magazine’s analysis and financial estimates. The team has the league’s worst record this season.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Paul Pierce scored a season-high 36 points and the Boston Celtics held on to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 102-95 last night to move into a first-place tie with Philadelphia 76ers in the Atlantic Division.
Celtics 102, Bobcats 95
Pierce shot 10 of 20 from the field, made 15 of 18 free throws and added 10 rebounds and four assists.
Pierce has scored 20 or more points in five of the past six games and is averaging 22.3 points per game during March.
Kevin Garnett had 24 points for the Celtics.
Gerald Henderson had 21 points for the Bobcats (7-40), who have lost six of their past seven and remain the only team in the NBA with fewer than 10 wins. Charlotte got 59 points from its bench, including
18 from Byron Mullens and 16 from Derrick Brown.
The Celtics have the same record (27-22) as the 76ers with 17 games remaining in the regular season.
Boston seemed poised to put this game away early.
With the game tied at 13, the Celtics went on a 14-0 run with Pierce, Garnett and Rajon Rondo combining for 12 points — most of those coming inside the paint.
They stretched the lead to 33-15 by the end of the first quarter, taking advantage of the Bobcats inability to score. Charlotte shot 29 percent from the field and didn’t hit a field goal in the final 6:47 of the first quarter.
But Charlotte showed some fight, pulling to within 52-50 at halftime as Mullens and Reggie Williams began to heat up from the outside.
The Bobcats improved in the second quarter, shooting 65 percent to get back in the game.
“They got back in the game because of their bench,” Pierce said. “They came in and played with a lot of energy. I don’t know that we were expecting that much from their bench.”
Celtics head coach Doc Rivers wasn’t happy about the second quarter, although he didn’t blast his team at halftime.
“I didn’t feel like I had to address it,” Rivers said. “If we’re a quote-unquote defensive team then
we have to be better than that.”
Boston led by as many as 12 in the second half but the Bobcats stayed close, closing the gap to four late.
However, Pierce scored on a pretty crosscourt feed from Rondo, and Garnett knocked down a jumper from the top of the key to seal the victory.
Rondo finished with 13 assists, seven points and six rebounds.
NOTES: Bobcats coach Paul Silas picked up his seventh technical foul of the season during the first quarter — one behind the league leader Rivers.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Paul Pierce has put the Boston Celtics on his shoulders and carried them through some tough times – all the way into a tie for first place.
With the Celtics battling a series of injuries and playing without Ray Allen, Pierce has been on a scoring tear.
And he didn’t let up Monday night.
Pierce scored a season-high 36 points and the Celtics held on to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 102-95 to move into a share of the Atlantic Division lead with the Philadelphia 76ers. Both teams are 27-22 with 17 regular-season games remaining, although the 76ers own the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Pierce said taking on a bigger burden of scoring doesn’t bother him at all.
“I think I’ve been feeling that way for the past couple of weeks now as far as needing to be more aggressive when I have the opportunities within the flow of the offense,” Pierce said.
Pierce shot 10 of 20 from the field, made 15 of 18 free throws and added 10 rebounds and four assists. He has scored 20 or more points in five of the past six games and is averaging 22.4 points during March.
“I wanted to be aggressive and just saw lanes tonight and I just wanted to mix it up between driving to the hole and hitting jump shots,” Pierce said. “My teammates set me up with a lot of down screens and pick-and-rolls that enabled me to get into the lane.”
Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Pierce played in “attack mode” right from the opening tip. Pierce had 17 points in the first half.
“We like to post him up a little more than we were doing,” Rivers said.
Kevin Garnett had 24 points for the Celtics.
Rivers said he didn’t mention to his team about moving into a tie for first place.
“For us we have to keep plugging along and keep playing,” Rivers said. “It is important, but we’ve still got some games left. Since the All-Star break we haven’t played well every night but we’re winning some of the games where we don’t play well.”
Gerald Henderson had 21 points for the Bobcats (7-40), who have lost six of their past seven and remain the only team in the NBA with fewer than 10 wins.
Charlotte’s bench outscored the Celtics 59-9, led by 18 points from Byron Mullens and 16 from Derrick Brown.
Despite the loss, Bobcats coach Paul Silas was pleased with his team’s play.
“We competed and this is the way it’s going to be from here on out,” Silas said. “I told our guys prior to the game that we have to run, we have to push the ball up and we have to finish – and we did. We had lob passes that we hadn’t had before and this is the way we’re going to play. We’re going to give ourselves a chance to win.”
Boston seemed poised to put this one away early.
With the game tied at 13, the Celtics went on a 14-0 run with Pierce, Garnett and Rajon Rondo combining for 12 points – most of those coming inside the paint.
They stretched the lead to 33-15 by the end of the first quarter, taking advantage of the Bobcats’ inability to score. Charlotte shot 29 percent from the field and didn’t hit a field goal in the final 6:47 of the first quarter.
But Charlotte showed some fight, pulling to 52-50 at halftime as Mullens and Reggie Williams began to heat up from the outside. The Bobcats shot 65 percent in the second quarter and scored 35 points to get back in the game.
“They got back in the game because of their bench,” Pierce said. “They came in and played with a lot of energy. I don’t know that we were expecting that much from their bench.”
Rivers wasn’t happy about the second quarter, although he didn’t blast his team at halftime.
“I didn’t feel like I had to address it,” Rivers said. “If we’re a quote-unquote defensive team then we have to be better than that.”
Boston led by as many as 12 in the second half but the Bobcats stayed close, closing the gap to four down the stretch.
However, Pierce scored on a pretty crosscourt feed from Rondo and Garnett knocked down a jumper from the top of the key to seal the victory.
Notes
Silas picked up a technical foul during the first quarter, giving him seven on the season — one behind Rivers, the league leader.
Brown handed out a career-high seven assists for the Bobcats.
Rondo finished with 13 assists, marking the 25th time this season he’s had double digits.
Paul Pierce scored a season-high 36 points and the Boston Celtics held on to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 102-95 Monday night to move into a first-place tie with Philadelphia 76ers in the Atlantic Division.
Pierce shot 10 of 20 from the field, made 15 of 18 free throws and added 10 rebounds and four assists.
Pierce has scored 20 or more points in five of the past six games and is averaging 22.3 points per game during March.
Kevin Garnett had 24 points for the Celtics.
Gerald Henderson had 21 points for the Bobcats (7-40), who have lost six of their past seven and remain the only team in the NBA with fewer than 10 wins. Charlotte got 59 points from its bench, including 18 from Byron Mullens and 16 from Derrick Brown.
The Celtics have the same record (27-22) as the 76ers with 17 games remaining in the regular season.
Boston seemed poised to put this game away early.
With the game tied at 13, the Celtics went on a 14-0 run with Pierce, Garnett and Rajon Rondo combining for 12 points — most of those coming inside the paint.
They stretched the lead to 33-15 by the end of the first quarter, taking advantage of the Bobcats inability to score. Charlotte shot 29 percent from the field and didn’t hit a field goal in the final 6:47 of the first quarter.
But Charlotte showed some fight, pulling to within 52-50 at halftime as Mullens and Reggie Williams began to heat up from the outside. The Bobcats improved in the second quarter, shooting 65 percent to get back in the game.
Boston led by as many as 12 in the second half but the Bobcats stayed close, closing the gap to four late.
However, Pierce scored on a pretty crosscourt feed from Rondo and Garnett knocked down a jumper from the top of the key to seal the victory.
Rondo finished with 13 assists, seven points and six rebounds.
NOTES: Bobcats coach Paul Silas picked up his seventh technical foul of the season during the first quarter, giving him seven for the season — one behind league leader Celtics coach Doc Rivers.
The Boston Celtics appear to be coming together when it matters most. With roughly a month left in the regular season, it is nearing a point where every win counts as teams battle it out for ideal playoff positioning. The Celtics are certainly heating up at the right time.
Coming off a solid 88-76 win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday, March 25, the Celtics look to travel overnight from D.C. to N.C. to take on the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday, March 26.
Charlotte enters the matchup as the leagues worst team, posting a season record of just 7-39. While Boston is playing on the road in a back-to-back game, the Bobcats have won just 4 games the entire season on their home court. It is almost as if the Celtics simply need to show up and put guys on the court to win the game. As always, even if it appears to be a “sure thing,” you never know until the game has been played.
The matchup…
The Boston Celtics will take on the Charlotte Bobcats at the Time Warner Cable Arena located in Charlotte N.C. on Monday, March 26, 2012 at 7 p.m. EDT.
The standings…
Boston comes into the game having won their last game and with a 26-22 record. They are 9-14 on the road and have won six of their last 10 games.
Charlotte enters the matchup having lost their last three games and with a 7-39 record. They are 4-17 on their home court and have won two of their last 10 games.
The season series…
The season series stands at 1-0 in favor of the Celtics.
Where to watch…
The game can be watched live nationwide with NBA League Pass or –
In Boston: CSNE
In Charlotte: SSO-CHA
The season statistic leaders…
Boston: Paul Pierce- 18.5 points per game, Rajon Rondo- 10.7 assists per game, Kevin Garnett- 8.3 rebounds per game.
Charlotte: Corey Maggette- 15.4 points per game, D.J. Augustin- 6.3 assists per game, Bismack Biyombo- 5.6 rebounds per game.
Injuries to note…
Boston: Mickael Pietrus (closed head injury), Ray Allen (sore right ankle), Jermaine O’Neal (sprained left wrist), Jeff Green (aortic aneurysm).
Charlotte: Eddy Najera (sore knee), Gana Diop (hamstring strain).
More Boston Celtics Commentary from this Contributor:
Boston Celtics should find a win against struggling Washington Wizards: Fan Preview
Boston Celtics look to grab division lead from Philadelphia 76ers: Fan Preview
Boston Celtics look to stop Monta Ellis and Milwaukee Bucks: Fan Preview
Boston Celtics at Atlanta Hawks, March 19, 2012: Fan Preview
Boston Celtics at Denver Nuggets, March 17, 2012: Fan Preview
Sources:
All data provided by NBA.com
Paul Rados is an avid Boston Celtics fan and a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter@PSRadosor leave him a message onFacebook.
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The Philadelphia 76ers took a big hit by losing three straight games to playoff teams last week. Yet every time Sixers fans like myself are let down by losses to contenders, Philadelphia gets to beat up on a bottom feeder and make us feel better for a while. And there is no better bottom feeder to beat up on than the Charlotte Bobcats these days.
The Sixers needed to warm up against the Bobcats on Mar. 19 before two straight games with the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics. Fortunately, Philadelphia didn’t take its eye off the ball – at least in the second half – and got the easy 105-80 win that it needed.
It took a while to get going even against the Bobcats, as the Sixers just had a two point lead at halftime. But after being dominated in the second half by the Chicago Bulls on Mar. 17, Philadelphia got back to seizing control in the third quarter. With a 59-36 advantage in the second half, the Sixers breathed easy just as they needed to do.
Jrue Holiday needed to carry Philadelphia by himself in Chicago and couldn’t quite pull it off. But although Holiday had 20 more points in Charlotte, the other Sixers did a much better job of showing up. Thaddeus Young led the bench’s revival with 20 points while Lou Williams chipped in 19, and Spencer Hawes got back to his double-double form with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
As it turned out, the Sixers had a far easier time putting away the Bobcats than they did in their last meeting on Feb. 13 – while Charlotte was closing out a 16-game losing streak. This kind of improvement is better than none at all, although getting confidence from a blowout win over the Bobcats isn’t enough on its own.
The real way for Philadelphia to erase last week’s rough losses is to beat New York and Boston this week and retake control of the Atlantic. Beating the Bobcats only kept the Sixers from falling into a trap beforehand, although it would have been a costly trap. At the least, the Sixers won’t risk falling into a six or seven-game losing streak now, yet another two or three-game losing streak might be even costlier than the last one.
Philadelphia isn’t on the level of the Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls, as it learned again days ago. Being high above Charlotte helps a little, yet staying ahead of New York and Boston is a far more important goal in the days to come.
Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident and 76ers fan.
Other stories from this contributor
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76ers fail another test against shorthanded Bulls
76ers forced to recover from Heat loss by visiting Bulls
76ers wait far too long to make an effort against Heat
The 2012 Charlotte Bobcats schedule continues into the month of April with some interesting games for fans. Though the team will have a difficult time making it back to the postseason, it doesn’t mean some of the opponents coming to town won’t make for exciting basketball.
The Bobcats have a total of 16 games in the month, with opponents that include the Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. The season comes to a close on Thursday, April 26, when Charlotte hosts the New York Knicks.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. D.J. Augustin scored 23 points and had 11 assists and the Charlotte Bobcats held off the Toronto Raptors 107-103 on Saturday night.
Gerald Henderson added 24 points, Corey Maggette had 21 and Tyrus Thomas had 11 or the Bobcats, who overcame a 15-point deficit in the second quarter to win for the second time in their past four games.
Charlotte, which still has the league’s worst record at 7-36, went on to lead by as many as 16 points with less than 4 minutes remaining. But the Raptors rallied, pulling within 105-103 on Jerryd Bayless’ 3-pointer with 11.7 seconds left.
Augustin hit two free throws with 9.9 seconds left to put the Bobcats up by four points, and DeMar DeRozan missed a long 3-point attempt with 2 seconds remaining.
Bayless finished with 29 points, DeRozan added 20, Linas Kleiza 13 and Andrea Bargnani 11 for the Raptors, who turned the ball over 24 times, leading to 26 Charlotte points.
Toronto also was called for 36 fouls, with the Bobcats going 31 of 34 at the free throw line. By comparison, Charlotte had 21 fouls, with the Raptors shooting 19 of 24 from the line.
Down 10 points at the half, the Bobcats went on a 16-4 run to open the third quarter, with Augustin’s 3-pointer with 6:15 left putting Charlotte up 59-57, its first lead of the game.
The Bobcats would never relinquish it, with another Augustin 3-pointer kicking off a 16-6 run to close out the period for an 81-67 Charlotte lead.
A four-point swing with 3:57 left in the fourth quarter gave the Bobcats their biggest lead of the game. Augustin hit a free throw off a technical foul on Bayless, then Bismack Biyombo finished off a three-point play with a free throw to put Charlotte ahead 98-82.
The Bobcats shot just 27.8 per cent from the field in the first quarter, as Toronto hit at better than 61 per cent in building a nine-point lead.
Despite its shooting problems, Charlotte managed to keep it close, tying the score at 16-16 on two free throws by Augustin with 4:44 left.
But the Bobcats managed just two field goals after that as the Raptors closed the quarter with a 13-4 run to go ahead 29-20.
Toronto pushed its lead into double digits early in the second quarter, going ahead by as many as 15 points twice, the last at 49-34 on a Bayless layup with 3:52 left.
However, Eduardo Najera’s 3-pointer from the corner with 3:26 left kicked off a 9-2 Charlotte run to close out the quarter, cutting the Raptors’ lead to 53-43 at halftime.
