By Leonard Laye
bobcats.com
April 2, 2008
Boxscore | Play-By-Play | Highlights | Postgame Video | Recaps

It was tough enough dealing with LeBron James, Cleveland’s All-Star forward and a 30.4 point scorer. It was, as it turned out, even tougher dealing down the stretch with James’ teammates.
After Charlotte took a roller-coaster ride through the inevitable ups and downs of Wednesday’s NBA game in a 118-114 loss to the Cavaliers, momentum momentarily swung the Bobcats way when James was called for a sixth foul with 3:56 remaining.
Cleveland wasn’t quite accustomed to playing with James disqualified – he fouled out for the first time of the season and only the third time in his five-year pro career.
Down three at the time, the result of James’ tie-breaking layup and free throw moments earlier, the Bobcats scored immediately after James went to the bench and trailed by a point, 104-103. But with other players filling key roles the Cavaliers righted themselves and twice streaked ahead by seven as the game entered the final minute.
“It was another one of those games that we played hard and well enough to win but we didn’t get the win,” said Charlotte Head Coach Sam Vincent. “It is a disappointing loss for us.”
The Cavaliers escaped with the victory thanks in large measure to their aggressiveness on the offensive boards. They outrebounded the Bobcats 47-38 overall and 17-12 on the offensive end, creating additional shots at the basket with three such recoveries in the closing five minutes.
The crunch-time statistics told a painful story for the Bobcats: From the time the score was tied at 101-101 with just over five minutes to play, Charlotte hit three of 11 shots, Cleveland five of 10. In that span the Cavaliers got to the line more often, hit more free throws and came up with one steal.
The Bobcats nonetheless stayed with it, slicing a seven-point deficit to two, 116-114, on Jason Richardson’s 3-pointer with 25.1 seconds left. But Devin Brown hit two free throws to put Cleveland up by four, and Charlotte missed three three-point attempts in the final 10 seconds.

The Bobcats performed well in several areas of play. They had a strong offensive start, hitting 14 of 20 shots in the opening quarter (70.0 percent) and allowing Cleveland 47.4 percent accuracy during the period.
That helped the Bobcats to a 34-25 lead at the end of the quarter, a margin that expanded to a high of 12 early in the second.
Charlotte outshot the Cavaliers overall, 53.1 percent to 52.9 and was sharper at the free throw line, 71.9 percent to 67.6.
The Bobcats had 14 turnovers but gave up only seven points off the miscues, compared to the 18 points they got off 11 Cleveland turnovers.

The Bobcats had no answer for Cleveland’s offense in the third quarter. Leading by six (64-58) early in the period, they were outscored 23-8 over the next 7:27 and found themselves trailing by nine (81-72).
They came back to tie the game one time in the fourth but never led again after the Cavaliers surge.
Cleveland had seven players scoring in double figures, three more than the Bobcats.

ardson continued a personal hot streak, two days after being named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week (for the week ending March 20).
After averaging 26.6 points on 46.4 percent shooting in the previous five games, Richardson sizzled against Cleveland. He scored 31, a game high and two more than James’ team-leading 29 for the Cavaliers, and in the process hit 13 of 22 shots (including four of eight 3-pointers).
His contribution also included seven assists, six rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.

While any fantasy owner would have loved to have Richardson's performance, those who are in the playoffs now and own Gerald Wallace had to like what they saw from him tonight. Wallace finished with 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and connected on seven of nine from the charity stripe. He added seven rebounds, two assists and two steals for a solid fantasy performance.

Nazr Mohammed came off the bench to score in double figures, joining starters Richardson (31), Emeka Okafor (25) and Wallace (25) in that category.
Playing just over half of the game (25 minutes), he hit five of seven shots and one of two free throws, and claimed seven rebounds to go with three assists and two blocked shots.

“We feel very confident, but we’ve had a lot of games like this,” Richardson said. “We want to finish up the season strong. We still have to build and get better as a team and get ready for next year. We played a tough game tonight but didn’t get the win.”

BOBCATS: Sean May (right knee surgery), Adam Morrison (torn left ACL), Derek Anderson (personal reasons), Othella Harrington (left knee discomfort)
CAVALIERS: Eric Snow (left knee), Ben Wallace (back spasms)

Friday, April 4 - Bobcats at Toronto Raptors - 7:00 p.m.
TV - News 14; Radio - WOLS OLDIES 106.1 FM

Matt Rochinski of bobcats.com contributed to this breakdown