Game 2: Morrison Leads Bobcats To Dramatic Win
July 11, 2006

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The scoring talent the nation saw during the 2005-06 college basketball season was showcased on Wednesday, as rookie Adam Morrison, the third overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, tallied 29 points – including 25 in the first half – and led the Bobcats to an 88-87 win over Chicago to improve to 2-0 in the Orlando Summer League.

Despite building a 15-point lead in the first half and holding a nine-point advantage early in the fourth quarter, Charlotte had to sweat this one out as the Bulls took their first lead of the game 87-86 lead with 3.1 seconds remaining.

With the outcome of the game still in question, it was Morrison who had the ball in his hands in the final seconds. His runner from the left side was off the mark, but Bobcats center D’or Fischer was there to tip in the winning shot at the buzzer.

“Overall, we played well but we turned the ball over too much. We try to get guys to make winning plays and that isn’t always making shots. D’or didn’t quit on the play and made a great tip,” Coach John-Blair Bickerstaff said. “Adam showed up big, especially in the first half. This is a small sign of what he is capable of doing.”

In addition to Morrison’s 29 points, Sean May finished with 15 points, a team-best seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Alan Anderson added 15 points, Fischer scored nine points, Kevin Burleson tallied eight and Brett Blizzard added seven off the bench.

After a slow start, the Bobcats got hot in the first quarter hitting 6-9 from the field after make just one of their first four. Charlotte took a 21-8 in the first period, boosted by rookie Morrison’s 15 points as he hit his first five field goal attempts and made 4-5 free throws.

“It helps to get going early and the guys did a good job of getting me the ball in the right spots,” Morrison said. Last night I felt I played alright as a whole and a lot of shots just missed. I wanted to come back tonight and have a better game. Tonight they went in.”

At the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats held a 25-14 advantage by shooting .533 from the field and limiting the Bulls to .267 from the field.

A three-pointer by May midway through the second period increased Charlotte’s lead to 14 points at 37-23. Morrison continued his hot shooting, hitting a short baseline jumper to give the Bobcats a 46-31 advantage and nailing a contested three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left in the opening half for his 25th point and a 49-36 halftime lead.

Chicago hit its first three field goal attempts to start the second half and cut the Charlotte lead to 49-44 less than two minutes into the frame. The Bulls moved within three points a couple of minutes later and tied the score at 53-53 midway through the quarter. The Bobcats missed their first 10 shots from the field in the period as the Bulls took their first lead of the game, 56-55. The Bobcats responded with a 12-6 spurt to take a 67-62 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Bobcats went back ahead by nine points in the fourth quarter before the Bulls reduced the lead to 80-79 with 2:45 left in the game. Burleson answered with a three-point play at the 1:39 mark to give Charlotte a four-point cushion and may followed with a short hook in the lane to push the advantage to 85-79. Chicago moved within 86-83, and, after a Bobcats turnover, the Bulls scored to narrow the lead to 86-85 and took the 87-86 lead following an Anderson missed three-pointer, setting up the dramatic finish.

Ryan Hollins, the Bobcats 2006 second-round pick, missed the game with a sprained right ankle and is questionable for Wednesday’s game against Orlando.