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The Bobcats entered Wednesday’s contest against the Bulls looking to build some momentum heading into the All-Star break while also atoning for a loss in Chicago earlier this season.

Charlotte accomplished both goals as strong defense and stellar offensive performances from two of the Bobcats biggest stars propelled them to a 100-85 win at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. The win snapped a Charlotte’s four-game losing streak and handed Chicago its fourth loss in the last five contests.

Emeka Okafor recorded an astonishing 21 rebounds – the third time in his career (and this season) he’s hauled in 20-plus boards. He supplemented the rebounding effort with 15 points on 6-10 shooting to notch his 32nd double-double through 52 games. He also added six blocks.

Gerald Wallace scored 12 of his 32 points in the third quarter when the Bobcats built a commanding 13-point lead. Wallace shot 12-20 from the field while totaling seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Raymond Felton scored 11 of his 16 points in the first half and also handed out nine assists and grabbed three steals. Matt Carroll, who finished with 17 points, went 3-5 from behind the arc to become the fourth Bobcats player in double figure scoring.

Okafor seemingly took the previous 115-76 loss on December 23 to heart, posting a double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds) in the first half. Playing against free agent acquisition Ben Wallace, whose reputation of defense and shot blocking precedes him, it was the Bobcats power forward that dominated the paint.

Keyed by Okafor’s blocks, the Bobcats left the Bulls shaking their heads in amazement all night long, with two plays standing out. Early in the contest, Okafor denied two straight Chicago short-range attempts, and on a late-fourth quarter possession, Wallace thwarted a right-handed dunk from Tyrus Thomas. The ball returned to the rookie and Okafor once again blocked Thomas as the shot clock expired.

“It was definitely an embarrassing effort, and an embarrassing loss,” said Chicago Head Coach Scott Skiles. “Right from the beginning, we started slow. We hung in there for awhile, but they just wore us down and we weren’t able to get anything going …(Okafor) gave us problems all night long.”

"(We played) the way we want to play every game, but especially right before the All-Star break."
-- Forward Gerald Wallace

Despite being without guards Brevin Knight (abdominal soreness) and Derek Anderson (sprained ankle), the Bobcats shot a respectable 48.6 percent (36-74) from the field and 71.4 percent (20-28) from the charity stripe.

Comparatively, Chicago shot under 40 percent (33-86) from the field as Charlotte’s defensive intensity increased exponentially in each quarter.

“We did all the right things, all the hustle things and we shared the ball,” said Charlotte General Manager & Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff.

The win gives Charlotte a breath of confidence as it heads into the extended All-Star weekend. The team will have a chance to reflect on the first part while getting some extra time for the roster to get healthy. In addition to Anderson and Knight, Sean May (sore knee) and Othella Harrington (knee surgery) sat out while Eric Williams, acquired from San Antonio for Melvin Ely on Tuesday, had yet to report to the team.

“It’s very important to go into the break with a bang so that when we come back, we come back on a positive note because we got a win,” Felton, who played 41 minutes, said. “Then, we’ll try to come back from there and make the second half of the season a good one – try to make a run for the playoffs.”

Ben Gordon scored 20 points and Deng added 19 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls. P.J. Brown, who played in Charlotte from 2000-2002 with the Hornets, added 12 points and Kirk Hinrich totaled 11 on 5-11 shooting.

Wallace’s buzzer beating trey gave Charlotte a 49-45 halftime lead, its largest of the first half. The teams exchanged eight lead changes and were tied six times with neither team grabbing more than a seven-point first half margin.

“(We played) the way we want to play every game, but especially right before the All-Star break,” Wallace said. “We’re coming off a little slump, so we came out and tried to be aggressive. We knew they played last night (and lost to Toronto), and we remembered what they did to us in Chicago on our back-to-back.”

Charlotte’s next game tips off at 7 p.m. on Tuesday against New Orleans/Oklahoma City at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. Get your tickets now.