By Matt Rochinski
bobcats.com
March 28, 2008
Boxscore | Play-By-Play | Highlights | Recaps

You’ve heard it before – the numbers don’t lie.
When the Charlotte Bobcats embarked on a brutal West Coast road trip on Monday prepared to play four games in five days against Utah, the Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle and Portland, there was little reason to think the numbers would change much.
The Bobcats entering the trip with a 6-27 record on the road and opened with a 128-106 loss to the Jazz on Tuesday.
But something changed for Charlotte after that defeat, and the numbers are bearing it out.
First they stunned the Lakers at the STAPLES Center with a convincing 108-95 win in which they got superstar Kobe Bryant so frustrated that he was ejected from the game after picking up two technical fouls.
Then, on Friday in Seattle, the Bobcats picked up their second-consecutive road win for the second time this season – and the first time they notched back-to-back wins on a single road swing – with a 96-93 victory over the Sonics.
Now they enter Portland on Saturday hoping this momentum will earn them their first winning road trip of two-or-more games this season.
But Friday’s win didn’t come easy, as the Bobcats were up against the numbers again.
After opening up a 16-point lead, 33-17, in the first quarter, Charlotte saw Seattle back to cut the lead to 55-53 heading into halftime. The Sonics continued to ride that momentum in the third, outscoring the Bobcats 23-17 in the frame to take a 76-72 lead with 12 minutes to go.
Why was that so important? Because in Charlotte’s previous 26 road games in which it trailed heading into the fourth quarter on the road, the Bobcats were 0-26 this season.
Still, Charlotte was unfazed, with Earl Boykins, Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson connecting on three consecutive 3-pointers after Richardson hit 1-2 free throws to start the frame. That 10-2 run gave the Bobcats an 82-78 lead, but Seattle wouldn’t go away.
The lead changed hands six times in the final 4:49, before Raymond Felton hit arguably the biggest shot of the game, burying a step-back jumper from just outside the lane on the right side to put Charlotte up 92-91 with 49.7 seconds remaining.
Wallace came up big on Seattle’s next trip down the court, stealing an errant Earl Watson. Felton couldn’t connect on Charlotte’s ensuing possession, but rookie Jared Dudley was able to haul down a clutch offensive board with 10.1 ticks left, setting up Felton to get to the line and hit two free throws with 9.6 seconds on the clock.
Kevin Durant had a chance to tied the game, but his desperation 3-pointer was off the mark and Richardson was able to come away with the rebound and drain two free throws in the final five seconds to secure the Bobcats win.
“I thought it was big they way our guys stayed with it even though we went down for periods,” said Bobcats Head Coach Sam Vincent. “We continued to fight through and came up with some big plays and were able to come up with a road win. So for us, that’s really big.”
Richardson finished with a game-high 27 points, followed by Felton (23), Emeka Okafor (19) and Wallace (11) in double-digit scoring.

Everything seemed to go right in the first quarter, and the Bobcats were able to bookend the game with a solid performance in the final frame.
Charlotte jumped on Seattle early, taking a 12-6 lead and pushing it to as large as 33-17 before finishing with their best offensive quarter of the season and taking a 38-27 lead after 12 minutes of play.
Led by 13 points from Richardson, 11 from Okafor and 10 more from Felton, the Bobcats connected on 60.9 percent (14 of 23) of their shots from the field, including 71.4 percent (5 of 7) from beyond the arc.
Charlotte’s shooters went cold in the second and third stanzas, making only 37.5 percent (15 of 40) of their shots from the field. They continued to struggle from the field in the fourth, hitting on 5-of-15 shots at a 33.3 percent clip, but Charlotte went to the line 14 times in the final 12 minutes and connected on 11 shots.
The Bobcats defense also buckled down, holding Seattle to 17 points on 8-of-21 shooting (38.1 percent) to take the win.
“I think that defensively (in the fourth quarter), we just got after them a little bit tougher,” Vincent said. “Earlier they were shooting about 60 percent from the field and then we got it down to around 52 percent. Then in the fourth quarter, we cranked it up just a little bit tighter and they missed a few of those shots, we were able to get the rebounds and go down and convert.”

After scoring 38 points in the first quarter, Charlotte only mustered 34 points in the third (17) and fourth (17) quarters combined, while Seattle racked up 49 points over that same stretch (26 in the third and 23 in the fourth).
As noted earlier, Charlotte only shot 37.5 percent from the field over that stretch as well.
That could have easily burned the Bobcats in this one, but they were able to fight through this rough patch and pull out a big road win.

He might not have led Charlotte in scoring, but Felton earns our nod for Player of the Game after finishing with 23 points n 8-of-15 shooting from the field, 2-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc and 5-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe. He added six assists in 36 minutes and connected on the shot of the game with 49.7 seconds left. Felton was also able to step to the line and hit a pair of game-winning free throws in the final 10 seconds.
“Raymond Felton, he made some big shots down the stretch,” Vincent said. “He’s continuing to grow, game by game.”

For the second-straight game, the Bobcats had a handful of players who lit up the fantasy stat sheet, but no one was better than Richardson.
He scored a game-high 27 points, including six 3-pointers. He added seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and a blocked shot for good measure.

Led by Richardson’s 6-of-10 performance, the Bobcats were on fire from long range. They connected on 52.6 percent (10 of 19) of their 3-pointers, compared to 26.7 percent (4 of 15) for Seattle.
“They (3-pointers) were going early but we’re always afraid,” said Vincent. “You live by the jumpshot, you die by the jumpshot.”

“I thought we were going to put out Seattle early but they fought back,” said Okafor. “It kind of went back and forth, and we showed a lot of heart and were able to come up at key moments and come away with a win.”

BOBCATS: Sean May (right knee surgery), Adam Morrison (torn left ACL), Derek Anderson (personal reasons), Othella Harrington (left knee discomfort)
SONICS: Michael Gelabale (torn ACL, right knee), Robert Swift (torn meniscus, right knee), Chris Wilcox (dislocated right little finger)

Saturday, March 29 - Bobcats at Portland Trail Blazers - 10:00 p.m.
TV - News 14; Radio - WOLS OLDIES 106.1 FM