By Malinda Murray
bobcats.com
March 31, 2008
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Fresh off an impressive road trip, where they picked up three wins in a four-game, five-night swing on the West Coast, the Bobcats returned home looking to extend their winning streak as they faced the Toronto Raptors.
Charlotte put up a valiant fight, but didn’t have quite enough left in the tank to overcome Toronto, falling 104-100.
“It was a tough night for us,” said Jason Richardson. “It almost felt like a road game since we were coming off of a road trip and it was our fifth game in seven nights. We got in Sunday morning at 7:00 (AM), so we’re still getting adjusted to the time zone. We played hard. We put out a lot of effort tonight, but the shots that we normally hit just weren’t going in.”
Leading by five at halftime, the Bobcats watched their lead slip away at the start of the third quarter. Toronto’s Anthony Parker opened the second half with an 18-foot jump shot sparking a 14-2 run that gave the Raptors a seven-point lead and turned the momentum in their favor.
“I thought at the beginning of the third, when they (the Raptors) went on that 14-2 run, that really killed us,” said Head Coach Sam Vincent. “I’m not sure if it was fatigue that set in at that point, but we missed some shots that we usually make. We were never able to catch back up from that 14-2 run, and that hurt us.”
The Bobcats, behind eight points from Jared Dudley and Earl Boykins, opened the fourth quarter on a 10-5 run to pull within one, but couldn’t get any closer as Toronto seemed to answer every Bobcats bucket with points of their own. The Raptors were able to get Charlotte in the penalty midway through the fourth quarter and took advantage knocking down 13-of-16 free throws in the final 4:30 to seal the win.

The Bobcats, behind 18 points from Jason Richardson, played well in the first half, shooting 54.4 percent (24-of-44) from the field in the first 24 minutes.
It was a layup from Richardson at the 6:18 mark of the second quarter that sparked an 11-0 Bobcats run and gave Charlotte a 10-point lead with 3:42 remaining in the first half.
Even after falling behind in the third, the Bobcats didn’t quit as they managed to keep the Raptors within striking distance, never trailing by more than seven in the final quarter.
The Bobcats were able to remain close because they received solid contributions from a number of different players. Richardson finished with 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting and six rebounds while Emeka Okafor (18 points, 12 rebounds) and Raymond Felton (10 points and 10 assists) both added a double-double. Gerald Wallace (20 points, 8 rebounds) and Jared Dudley (11 points) rounded out the double-figure scoring efforts.
“Our team has grown tremendously,” said Vincent. “The fact that we can come off of an emotional road trip, still tired and a little jet-lagged, and come back and play a team with a player like Chris Bosh, and play them to the point where we really had a chance to win, it shows the growth in our team.”

The Bobcats didn’t have the same spring in their step in the second half as they did in the first. Shots that they normally make were coming up just short. The stats in the third quarter were particularly telling. The Bobcats were outscored 21-10 and shot just 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from the field in that period.
“Our legs just weren’t in it tonight,” said Wallace. “Our energy was there and our hearts were there, the legs and the ability to finish plays weren’t there tonight. I know I missed five or six point-blank lay-ups. It’s not often Matt Carroll goes 1-8 when he has five wide-open shots. We just struggled tonight as a team because of jet-lag from a West Coast trip.”
Chris Bosh also was a thorn in the Bobcats side the entire night. After not playing in the last meeting between the two teams, Bosh proved to be the difference maker, posting 32 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
“He’s an All-Star caliber player,” said Wallace. “He was able to carry his team tonight – he got to the basket, got to the free-throw line and did a great job on defense.”
Bosh also received a considerable amount of help from his teammates. Anthony Parker (20 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists), T.J. Ford (16 points, 7 assists), Jamario Moon (15 points, 8 rebounds) and Rasho Nesterovic (14 pints, 11 rebounds) all contributed to the Raptors win.

Jason Richardson continues to lead the Bobcats. Tonight was no exception as he tallied 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting for his 43rd game of the season with 20 points or more.
“Jason Richardson has had a great season,” said Raptors Head Coach Sam Mitchell. “He has been one of the best shooting guards in the league this year. A lot of people talk about Kobe (Bryant) and LeBron (James), but you have to include Jason in that conversation.”

Emeka Okafor has been putting up great fantasy numbers over the last four games. Tonight he posted his 37th double-double of the season with 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting along with 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals and four blocks.

The Raptors were able to draw fouls and get to the free throw line, which gave them a huge advantage in the game. Toronto went 27-of-37 from the free throw line. Bosh alone went 13-of-16 from the charity stripe. Charlotte shot 16-of-20 from the free throw line for the night.

“We feel like we are playing for something,” said Vincent. “I don’t think there is ever a time in an NBA game that you are not playing for anything. We’re playing for a lot. We’re still pushing our guys. We want to go into every game and play hard.”

BOBCATS: Sean May (right knee surgery), Adam Morrison (torn left ACL), Derek Anderson (personal reasons), Othella Harrington (left knee discomfort)
RAPTORS: Jorge Garbajosa (left ankle)

Wednesday, April 2 - Bobcats vs. Cleveland Cavaliers - 7:00 p.m.
TV - News 14; Radio - WOLS OLDIES 106.1 FM
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