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The Bobcats entered Saturday’s game against LeBron James and the Cavaliers knowing they would have to play a nearly flawless game to come away with their first victory of 2006-07.

With the pressure mounting following two losses to Indiana and at Memphis that Charlotte felt it let slip away, the Bobcats didn’t come out tight against Cleveland.

They came out loose, played Bobcats basketball and picked up their first win of the season 92-88 in front of a record crowd of 19,147 at Charlotte Bobcats Arena, giving them their first win in franchise history over the Cavaliers.

“We just want our guys to relax and have some fun,” Bobcats General Manager & Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said before Saturday’s win. “We had two games, and there were all kinds of opportunities during winning time where we didn’t get those things done. We were thinking too much as a basketball team and we were trying too hard.”

Led by a game-high 23 points from Raymond Felton, followed by 17 from Brevin Knight, 14 from Sean May, 13 from Adam Morrison and 12 from Emeka Okafor, the Bobcats let things flow against King James and the Cavs. In doing so, they eliminated many of the mistakes that plagued them in the first two contests.

After averaging 20.5 turnovers and allowing 18.5 offensive rebounds for an average of 39 extra possessions for their opponents in its two prior games, Charlotte turned the ball over 15 times and gave up just 13 offensive rebounds while continuing to lock down defensively against Cleveland.

"It's a big win for us -- a win we needed. We came out and executed the way we're supposed to and scrapped like we always do."
-- Raymond Felton

The Bobcats outshot the Cavaliers 44.3 percent (31-70) to 38.0 percent (27-71) from the field and held James – the league’s second leading scorer (30.5 points in two games) – to 16 points on 3-13 shooting from the field (23.1 percent).

“This was a big win for us,” Felton said. “I think we did a pretty good job on him tonight, trying to contain him. Even though he still at times made great passes, they were missing shots. We were contesting their shots, and they were missing.”

Charlotte turned the tide in this one with 3:02 remaining in the third quarter. Trailing 63-61, the Bobcats rattled off an 8-0 on two buckets by May and one apiece from Knight and Morrison that turned the two-point deficit into a 69-63 advantage and swung the momentum in their favor.

Led by five points from Okafor in the first 3:39 of the fourth frame, the Bobcats outscored Cleveland 10-5 and pushed their lead to 79-71, the largest of the game. The Cavs refused to fold however, and the Bobcats were unable to increase the lead to double-digits.

Charlotte kept up the defensive intensity though, holding Cleveland to nine points over the next 7:42 and forcing the Cavs to turn the game into a free-throw shooting contest with 39 seconds remaining.

Drew Gooden paced Cleveland with 21 points and 16 rebounds, followed by James, Zydrunas Ilgauskas (14 points), Marshall (14 points) and Larry Hughes (12 points).

The Bobcats now head to Boston for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Wednesday, November 8 with the Celtics.

NOTES: Two years from they day the Bobcats played their inaugural game on November 4, 2004, Charlotte defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight to notch their first win of the 2006-07 season... The Bobcats notched their first win in history over Cleveland tonight and are now 1-7 all-time against the Cavaliers. The remaining NBA teams the Bobcats have yet to upend include Memphis, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas, Phoenix and Milwaukee... Coming into the game atop the NBA in blocked shots with an average of 5.0, Emeka Okafor rejected three more shots tonight... Raymond Felton pumped in 23 points tonight on 4-9 shooting (4-6 from three-point range). With his 23 point outing tonight, Felton is averaging 18.5 points over four career games against the Cavaliers... Brevin Knight scored 17 points and handed out seven assists to go with two steals. The stat-stuffing Knight is now averaging 14.3 points, 7.0 assists and 2.0 steals... Scoring 16 points, LeBron James was held to his lowest scoring total thus far in eight games against the Bobcats. Last season, James averaged 34.0 points against Charlotte over three games... Sean May tallied a career-high in blocks with three... The Bobcats shot .767 (23-30) from the charity stripe tonight, after managing just .607 (54-69) over their first two games... Scoring 13 points, Adam Morrison became the first Bobcats player to reach double figures in his first three games as a pro. The rookie netted 14 points in the opener and 21 last night in Memphis.

INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM
Bobcats Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff
(On the game) We cut down on the turnovers. We cut down on the offensive rebounds allowed. The critical factor was that when we were in foul trouble, the group that we put in performed and got us back in the basketball game. In the second quarter Emeka (Okafor) and Jake (Voskuhl) were on the bench and that group we put in got us back within four and it was just by scrapping. They did a good job of not allowing LeBron (James) to get to the basket except in the last few minutes. We missed some big free throws down the stretch.

(On Emeka Okafor) I thought when he went back in the fourth quarter there was a stretch there in the right block where they got him the ball. He was off the glass and that was good. He didn’t have an opportunity to play because of fouls but I think he’s playing well. He’s rebounding, blocking shots, he’s using the glass in the post. I’m pleased with him. It’s still going to take some time though. The same thing with Sean (May) though. They basically missed a season so it will take time.

(On Emeka Okafor’s shot blocking ability) You have to respect it and you might have to adjust your shot. The master was (Bill) Russell. He didn’t have to block shots, just his presence was enough.

Bobcats guard Raymond Felton
(On the win) We came out and played loose. We just went out and played basketball. We’ve still got to clean up a little bit on the offensive rebounds, but I think we play hard for the most part, we play great defense, and our offense was clicking. If we play like that, I think we have a great chance of winning.

(On being able to come from behind and win) We have a lot of fight. The game of basketball is about runs, so if you make a big run and you’re up, you’ve got to expect for the other team to make a big run. It’s about staying poised and keeping your composure and trying to keep the lead in check.

Bobcats forward Sean May
(On getting the first win of the season) It feels great. We’ve been striving to get this for the last couple of games, and we’ve been there, but we haven’t closed it out. Today we did some good things Guys stepped up and made plays tonight and it felt good with the crowd that we had and the support that we tonight to get our first win at home. It felt sweet.