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January 17, 2009
Boxscore | Play-By-Play | Postgame Video | Gallery | Recaps
CHARLOTTE - Sure, the game went into overtime and there were several key late plays in the Charlotte Bobcats' third straight victory.
But all anybody wanted to talk about after the Bobcats' 102-97 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night was the dunk. The alley-oop, one-handed jam by Gerald Wallace over 7-footer Greg Oden in the fourth quarter that had fans gasping and players craning their necks for a glimpse of the replay.
"It was kind of like a college atmosphere in a sense, how the crowd got into it,'' said Raymond Felton, who got the assist. "People were so loud. It was big.
"That was a big dunk.''
It was part a monster night from Wallace, who had 31 points and 16 rebounds to lead the new-look Bobcats, who through trades and coach Larry Brown's persistence are starting to creep into playoff contention in the Eastern Conference.
"The chemistry is starting to come together, with the team as well as the coaches,'' Wallace said.
Emeka Okafor added 22 points and 11 rebounds, outplaying the foul-plagued Oden as the Bobcats used tough defense over the final minute to secure their longest winning streak since March.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points, and Brandon Roy added 17 but shot poorly from the field and the line for the Blazers, who finished 2-2 on their East Coast trip.
"For whatever reason we looked like we had heavy legs,'' Blazers coach Nate McMillan said.
Wallace sure didn't on a play that's destined for YouTube stardom.
In a tight game, Felton lobbed the ball to the high-flying Wallace, who rose over Oden, grabbed the ball with one hand, and slammed it as Oden bumped Wallace away from the basket with his lower body.
"You always need an energy play, and that's what you could consider an energy play,'' Wallace said.
After Oden was charged with his fifth foul and the fans cheered the replay, Wallace sank the free throw to give Charlotte a 78-77 lead with 6:41 left.
"He dunked on Greg Oden,'' Felton said, shaking his head.
On the next possession, Wallace drove hard into the lane, did a 360 and banked in a reverse layup as a helpless Oden hacked him to foul out. Wallace again hit the free throw to put Charlotte ahead 81-77.
The Bobcats still had work to do, as the Blazers rallied from an 88-83 deficit with just over a minute left in regulation, tying it when Roy tipped in his own miss with 9.1 seconds left.
Felton, whose jumper with 0.7 seconds left gave the Bobcats a win in Detroit on Tuesday night, missed a fadeaway 20-footer at the buzzer.
But Felton's driving layup with 49 seconds left in OT put Charlotte ahead to stay. After Roy missed a shot in the lane, Felton's miss was rebounded by Okafor, and Felton hit one of two free throws with 5.7 seconds left to make it 100-97.
Short-handed Portland then failed to get a high percentage shot, with Rudy Fernandez's 3-point attempt failing to hit iron. Okafor hit two free throws with 2.7 seconds left for Charlotte's ninth win in 15 games.
"This team is growing. Everybody is growing and everybody's getting better,'' said Felton, who has seen the addition of Raja Bell and Boris Diaw in a trade with Phoenix, while big man DeSagana Diop is expected to make his debut Monday after Friday's trade with Dallas.
The Trail Blazers found out earlier Saturday that starting point guard Steve Blake would miss another two to four weeks with a sprained right shoulder, longer than originally expected.
Sergio Rodriguez started his second straight game in his place and rookie Jerryd Bayless saw significant time, adding 14 points.
But Portland made only 16 of 31 free throws, with Roy the biggest culprit. Harassed most of the night by Bell, Roy shot 7-for-18 from the field and made only three of 10 from the line.
"I haven't felt great since I came back from my hamstring (injury),'' Roy said. "Tonight it really showed. ... My mid-range game doesn't feel as good as before I got hurt.''
Notes: Blazers officials were mum on adding Memphis F Darius Miles $18 million salary to their payroll and paying the ensuing luxury tax. Miles played his 10th game of the season Friday, triggering the move. The Blazers waived Miles at the end of last season and said a doctor determined he hadn't recovered from knee surgery. ... Brown was eager to see Diop in a Charlotte uniform. "His defensive presence, his length, his ability to block shots, that's something I never think you can have enough of,'' Brown said. ... McMillan, a North Carolina native, bought 80 tickets.
Bobcats Head Coach Larry Brown
(On the game)
"They (the Trail Blazers) are hard to guard because they have big shooters and have a bunch of guys that can put it on the floor, but I thought we did a good job. We got hurt on some offensive rebounds because we had to come over and help. The biggest key is we rebounded and we didn’t turn the ball over; we only gave up nine points on turnovers. Gerald had a marvelous game; Boris struggled shooting the ball then he hits a big three; then Emeka (played well) down the stretch. It was a good win. Our bench helped a lot."
(On Emeka Okafor)
"He gets better by the minute, and since we got Raja, Juwan, and Boris, he’s become a big part of our offense. Those guys throw him the ball. When big guys are rewarded in every area, their game picks up."
(On the team’s play)
"We just have to try to get better. We have some good teams coming in here. My thing, Rod’s and Michael’s thing, is that we want to see improvement by our players."
Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace
(On his dunk in the fourth quarter)
"You always need an energy play and that’s what you could consider an energy play – something that gets not only the fans, but also your teammates, into it. I think that was a play that got our fans, our bench, our coaches and the guys that were out on the court into the game and then we were able to come out with a win tonight."
(On how hard it is to play against a young, talented team such as the Blazers)
"(It is) very difficult; they’re a pretty good team. I think we did a great job of attacking the basket tonight and putting them in foul trouble and having them play on their heels. They weren’t able to do the things that they wanted to do because a lot of the guys that they usually do it with were in foul trouble."
(On what has allowed the team to be successful in overtime this season)
"Sticking to what we do and sticking to our defensive principles. We continue to run our offense and we continue to make plays. We also know that just because somebody comes out and scores or they hit a big shot at a crucial time in the game, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the game is over. We still come down and try to execute our offense and try to get a basket and come back and stop them on the other end."
Bobcats guard Raja Bell
(On his success defending Brandon Roy)
"I just try to play him as tough as I can play him. He’s one of those players that I categorize as guys that you can’t stop. You really just try to make them work for everything that they get. You try to deny them the ball, you try to make them shoot contested jump shots and you try to keep them off the foul line. But guys like that, when they’re that good, most of the time they get what they want."
(On defending the screen-and-roll)
"On the screen-and-roll you have to trust each other. That’s one of those plays in the NBA – everybody runs it because it’s a hard thing to get right defensively. In our scheme, we try to show hard enough to let the guards recover. You have to know that the big man is going to stay long enough to let you get back and he’s got to trust that you’re going to get back allowing him to get back. Once we cleaned that up and cleared the air a little bit, I think we did it a lot better going down the stretch. Good defensive teams can work things out on the fly and execute."
(On the chemistry between he and Emeka Okafor)
"Emeka is a really good player. Sometimes a different look can help a guy like him when guys don’t necessarily want to leave us (defensively) on the perimeter and he’s going to be able to work one-on-one with guys in the post. That’s all you can ask for as an offensive player is to get a one-on-one opportunity, and I’m happy to be able to do that for Mek. He’s great when my man comes to help – he finds me on the perimeter and then it’s up to me to make shots. It’s been a pleasure playing with him."
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