By MATT ROCHINSKI
bobcats.com
March 20, 2009

CHARLOTTE - The Bobcats enter this weekend's back-to-back set riding a two-game winning streak and having won eight of their last 11. Charlotte needs to keep things rolling on Friday in Toronto and against the Pacers at Time Warner Cable Arena on Saturday to keep the pressure on the Chicago Bulls, whom they trail by 1.5 games for the final playoff spot.

The Bobcats tip off in Toronto at 7:00 pm and against Indiana at 7:00 pm at Time Warner Cable Arena.

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FOLLOWING THE BOBCATS

Fans can watch both games on SportsSouth and listen to both games on WOLS 106.1 FM.

Buy tickets for the Pacers game now.

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BOBCATS (30-38)

The Bobcats knew at the beginning of the week that they'd have to have a solid six days if they wanted to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. They came through with convincing wins on Monday over Toronto and Wednesday against Sacramento, and currently sit 1.5 games behind the Chicago Bulls for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.

Now its time to take the show on the road to Toronto, where the Bobcats will be looking for their second win over the Raptors in five days, before returning to Charlotte to take on Danny Granger and the Pacers.

Gerald Wallace gave the Bobcats a bit of a scare on Wednesday when he crumpled to the floor late in the first half of Charlotte's win over the Kings with a bone bruise in his left knee. It appeared to be worse at first, but Wallace fought through the pain in the second half and scored a team-high 25 points on 6-13 shooting, including 2-2 from beyond the three-point line, and 11-11 free- throw shooting. Wallace added 12 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season. Wallace also had two steals, two blocked shots and one assist in 39 minutes.

He is averaging 25.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocked shot over his last three games, while shooting .595 from the field (22-37), .600 from beyond the three-point line (3-5) and .935 from the free- throw line (29-31).

Emeka Okafor also looked good against the Kings, tallying his 34th double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. That could be a sign of even better things to come for Mek, as his double-douobles often come in bunches. It was his first double-double since scoring 17 points and brining down 11 rebounds on March 6 against Atlanta, but on the Bobcats six-game winning streak, he averaged 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds while picking up four double-doubles.

BOBCATS PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
G – Raymond Felton
G – Raja Bell
F – Gerald Wallace
F – Boris Diaw
C – Emeka Okafor

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SEASON SERIES AGAINST TORONTO (RAPTORS LEAD 2-1)

The Bobcats trail the Raptors, 2-1, in the season series, but after dropping two games to Toronto in November, Charlotte won convincingly on Monday at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Gerald Wallace scored 25 points and D.J. Augustin added 15 off the bench as the Bobcats took advantage of the game midway through the firsts quarter and never looked back on their way to a 112-86 win.

Chris Bosh led the Raptors with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

The Bobcats appeared to have things clicking against the Raptors on November 9 at Time Warner Cable Arena, taking a 67-63 lead into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, Charlotte was outscored 26-12 in the fourth quarter on the way to an 89-79 defeat.

Augustin led the Bobcats with 14 points off the bench, while Raymond Felton and Jason Richardson added 12 points apiece.

Bosh paced the Raptors with 30 points and 15 rebounds.

Bosh had another big night against Charlotte in a 93-86 win on November 26 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The Raptors big man finished with 39 points and 11 rebounds.

Wallace had a team-high 23 points for the Bobcats, and Emeka Okafor added 16 points and 14 rebounds.

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RAPTORS (24-44)

Toronto hasn't played since its 112-86 loss on Monday in Charlotte, so the Raptors have to be anxious for the rematch on Friday with a chance to seek some revenge.

It's been a rough month for Toronto, as they are 1-7 in March and 1-8 in their last nine overall. The Raptors lone bright spot came in a convincing win in Toronto on Sunday.

The Raptors entered that game against Indiana on a seven-game skid and kept things close with the Pacers in the first half, taking a 53-50 lead into the break. The Raptors then came out of the locker room and dominated the third quarter 37-19 on their way to a 110-87 victory.

Toronto's game against Charlotte opens a five-game homestand at the Air Canada Centre, where the Raptors have had their most success recently. They are 3-3 in their last six games across the border.

RAPTORS PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
G – Jose Calderon
G – Anthony Parker
F – Shawn Marion
F – Chris Bosh
C – Andrea Bargnani

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SEASON SERIES AGAINST INDIANA (BOBCATS LEAD 2-1)

The Bobcats and Pacers have played each other close this season, with Charlotte holding a 2-1 advantage.

The Bobcats opened the season series with a 115-108 overtime victory on November 28 in Indiana. Raymond Felton tied a career-high with 31 points in the victory, while Jason Richardson (21), D.J. Augustin (17), Gerald Wallace (16) and Emeka Okafor (14) all scored in double digits. Mek also added 20 rebounds in the win.

Danny Granger scored a game-high 35 points on 14-of-21 shooting for Indiana.

Charlotte trimmed a 14-point third-quarter deficit to three points before falling 98-93 on January 25 in Indiana. Raja Bell and Boris Diaw scored 18 points apiece for the Bobcats, and Okafor added 14 more.

Granger had a big night for the Pacers again, finishing with 27 points.

Wallace scored 25 points to lead the Bobcats to a 103-94 win on February 18 in Charlotte - in just his second game back from suffering a partially-collapsed lung and broken rib. Felton (16), Vladimir Radmanovic (15), Diaw (14), Okafor (12) and Bell (11) all scored in double digits in the win as well.

Troy Murphy scored 18 points to lead the Pacers, who lost Granger to a foot injury early in the second quarter.

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PACERS (28-41)

At 28-41, the Pacers aren't out of the playoff hunt in the East either. They're four games back of the No. 8 spot with 13 to play, so if they can put a few wins together they could sneak in as well.

The Pacers haven't helped themselves much as of late, however. Indiana has dropped four straight heading into Friday's contest in Dallas.

The Pacers had been without Granger for nearly a month since he suffered a partial tendon tear in his right foot on February 18 in Charlotte, but he returned to the lineup and scored 10 points as a reserve on Sunday in Toronto. He was back in the starting five on Wednesday against Portland and scored 35 points and brought down 10 rebounds.

Unfortunately, Granger didn't get much help from his teammates against the Trail Blazers. The rest of the team shot 36.7 percent from the field, and only Roy Hibbert (14 points) and Jarrett Jack (13 points) scored in double figures.

PACERS PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
G – T.J. Ford
G – Jarrett Jack
F – Danny Granger
F – Jeff Foster
C – Roy Hibbert

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