TURNING POINTS
Charlotte entered the fourth quarter up 75-70 thanks to 10 points, including three treys from Ben Gordon in the third. Gordon stayed hot to start the fourth, connecting on three more 3-pointers as the Cats opened the stanza on a 17-4 run to take a 92-74 lead… Charlotte’s defense kept the Blazers offense in check early in the fourth, holding Portland without a field goal for the first 5:13… Led by 12 points from rookie Damian Lillard in the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers would not go away and outscored the Cats 28-10 down the stretch in regulation to send the game to overtime tied, 102-102… With the Bobcats trailing 107-106 in OT, Luke Babbitt came off Portland’s bench to hit a crucial 3-pointer to put the Blazers up by four with 1:45 remaining. Portland hit all eight of its free throws in the final moments to steal the win in Charlotte.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Led by Ben Gordon’s 29 points in 35 minutes off the bench, Charlotte’s reserves outscored Portland’s, 51-31… The Cats outshot the Trail Blazers 48.1 percent (13-for-27) to 34.3 percent (12-for-35) from long range, including Gordon’s franchise-best eight treys on 8-for-12 shooting (66.6 percent)… Kemba Walker continues to fill the stat sheet for the Cats, finishing with 22 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals in 39 minutes… Charlotte went cold in the extra session, hitting on 36.4 percent of its shots from the field, 25.0 percent from long range and 25.0 percent from the charity stripe. The Trail Blazers countered by hitting 50.0 percent from the field, 66.7 percent from 3-point range and 100.0 percent from the free-throw line… The Bobcats outscored Portland, 30-15, on the break but turned it over 17 times leading to 19 Blazers points.

BOBCATS PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Ben Gordon kept the Cats in the game after the break after scoring two points in the first half. He hit all eight of his franchise best eight 3-pointers in the second half and overtime, including a franchise-best seven in the second half alone. Gordon finished with a game-high 29 points to go with five assists, three rebounds and one steal.

As hot as Gordon was after halftime, it was Kemba Walker who carried the cats through the first 24 minutes. Walker scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half as Charlotte took a 54-51 lead into the locker room. While he only managed five points the rest of the way, Walker found other ways to contribute in the second half and OT. He dished out a team-high seven assists, grabbed five rebounds and swiped three steals in the game.

BLAZERS PLAYER OF THE GAME
LaMarcus Aldridge was key for Portland inside down the stretch and finished with a team-high 25 points to go with 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots.

INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM
"(Wesley) Matthews is a good defender and (Nicholas) Batum is a good defender. I was just trying to create space and run away from them. I hit a couple of shots from behind the arc, so I just wanted to stay with it and try to give my team some momentum"
- Bobcats Guard Ben Gordon on his 3-point shooting

"I thought that we were hasty in our shot selection. We should have stayed at the rim because the free throws didn’t become a factor coming down the stretch, and it was obvious that we gave up some open threes on the pick-and-roll game. Those were the two things that hurt us."
- Bobcats Head Coach Mike Dunlap on the team’s play at the end of the fourth quarter

GAME NOTES
Ben Gordon’s eight treys topped the seven 3-pointers he hit in Atlanta on November 28, 2012 in Atlanta that tied D.J. Augustin and Jason Richardson for the previous franchise record… Gordon’s seven treys in the second half passed the six he made in the second half of that same game in Atlanta… Gordon scored the 10,000th point of his nine-year NBA career on a 3-pointer with 1:46 left in the fourth quarter… Gerald Henderson returned after missing 13 games with a foot injury and scored five points in 15 minutes off the bench… Tyrus Thomas (calf) was inactive.

NEXT UP
The Bobcats end their three-game homestand at Time Warner Cable Arena® on Wednesday, December 5 at 7 p.m. against the New York Knicks. Make sure you come out to support your Cats. If you can’t make it, watch the game on SportSouth or listen on WFNZ. As always, follow the live in-game chat on bobcats.com or download the Bobcats app on your smartphone.