By Leonard Laye
bobcats.com
March 26, 2008
Boxscore | Play-By-Play | Highlights | Recaps

LOS ANGELES – It was a surreal setting, one the Charlotte Bobcats will treasure briefly before their next stops on a swing through the NBA’s Western Conference.
STAPLES Center was buzzing Wednesday, more with sporadic boos than the usual applause generated by the Los Angeles Lakers perennial success. Nelly, a Grammy Award-winning rapper and a minority owner of the Bobcats, sat courtside, grinning in response to fans upset by his support by the visiting team.
The scene could be traced to the scoreboard: Charlotte 108, Los Angeles Lakers 95.
So much for the pitfalls of the road. Playing in an attack mode all evening, with a confident mindset that belied their six-game losing streak away from home, the Bobcats continued their improbable but very real recent mastery of the Lakers, claiming their fourth victory in the past five games in this series.
“We wanted to come out and be aggressive on both ends (of the floor),” said Gerald Wallace, whose contribution included 15 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and a major defensive role against Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant.
Bryant scored 27 points and became a real problem for the Bobcats in the second half, when the Lakers were trying to battle back from a double-digit lead Charlotte staked out in the game’s early stages. But as the game wore on and the Bobcats refused to wilt, Bryant’s frustration led to two technical fouls and a late-game ejection.
That was a partial result of the way the Bobcats have played in recent games against Los Angeles.
“We do a good job of frustrating Kobe and taking them out of the things they want to do,” Wallace said. “Tonight we did a great job with our team defense.”
Charlotte’s success on the defensive end of the floor was one of the major factors in the second quarter, perhaps the most decisive stretch in a game full of momentum swings. The Bobcats dominated the quarter offensively as well, getting their scoring spark from Jason Richardson and stretching their lead to 13 (57-44) at halftime.
The closing moments of the second quarter were a microcosm of the entire period. The Lakers rallied briefly and cut a 10-point deficit to three going into the final minute. But Charlotte responded immediately with a 10-0 rush to close the half, with Richardson contributing six points and Raymond Felton four assists and a buzzer-beating three-pointer.
The Lakers, battling with several other teams for first place in the Western Conference standings, had ample incentive to come from behind as the third quarter began. Bryant tried his best to get them over the top, exploding for 17 points in the third and helping Los Angeles creep to within three points in the early stages of the fourth period.
But the 13-point margin had created just enough room to keep the Bobcats in front, and at one stage they extended the lead to 19 before wrapping up the victory.

Though the Bobcats led for the full 48 minutes, their domination in the second quarter was pivotal.
The statistics for the period were revealing: Charlotte outscored the Lakers 30-20, shot 68.8 percent while limiting the Lakers to 35.0 percent marksmanship and led the rebounding 12-9.

Finding anything wrong with Wednesday’s performance would require some nitpicking.
There was a statistical swing in the Lakers favor in the fourth quarter, when Los Angeles outshot Charlotte 47.4 percent to 42.1. But that difference didn’t mean much – the Lakers “won” the quarter by a single point, 27-26.
But by that time the Bobcats had done more than enough damage to seal the victory.

The Lakers had no answer, from beginning to end, for Richardson and his offense.
Richardson was on top of his game all night, scoring 16 in the first half and 18 in the second for a total of 34. He also recorded a double-double by gathering 10 rebounds and added three steals, two assists and two blocked shots.

Numerous Bobcats players put forth solid fantasy performers, but it is impossible to ignore Richardson's final stat line. He scored a game-high 34 points with 10 rebounds and chipped in three steals, two assists and two blocks.
That is fantasy gold.

Wallace created the game’s most effective line with a versatile, high-caliber performance.
The Bobcats’ forward had 15 points, joining four teammates in double figures. He grabbed eight rebounds, passed out seven assists (second only to Felton’s 10) and had two blocks and two steals.
“Gerald played a really significant role as a scorer, a defender and a playmaker,” said Bobcats Head Coach Sam Vincent.
Wallace’s defensive assignment on Bryant was a tough one but he handled that well, despite Bryant’s 17-point outburst in the third quarter that led to a game total of 27.
“My main concern tonight was Kobe,” Wallace said. “Kobe is the MVP of this league. I don’t think anyone can stop him but the one thing we can do and I think I was able to do tonight was to make his shots tough and aggravate him…
“I think we did a good job of keeping him in tough positions and forcing him to shoot shots that I don’t think he was comfortable in shooting, and trying to get the ball out of his hands. I think he got frustrated and his teammates got frustrated and we were able to capitalize.”

“We played (Monday night, at Utah) and the same thing happened to us…Utah had a big lead and we fought our way back but they just gutted it out,” said Richardson. “So when (the Lakers) made a run, we stayed calm, stayed focused, brought the ball up top, got to the basket and we just maintained the lead.”

BOBCATS: Sean May (right knee surgery), Adam Morrison (torn left ACL), Derek Anderson (personal reasons), Othella Harrington (left knee discomfort)
LAKERS: Trevor Ariza (fractured right foot), Andrew Bynum (subluxated patella, left knee), Pau Gasol (sprained left ankle), Chris Mihm (right ankle surgery)

Friday, March 28 - Bobcats at Seattle Sonics - 10:30 p.m.
TV - News 14; Radio - WOLS OLDIES 106.1 FM

Matt Rochinski of bobcats.com contributed to this breakdown.