By Malinda Murray
bobcats.com
April 8, 2008
Boxscore | Play-By-Play | Highlights | Postgame Video | Recaps

The final score was much closer than what they wanted, but the end result was exactly the outcome the Bobcats were looking for against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night at the newly re-named Time Warner Cable Arena.
After racing out to a quick start and building an 18-point advantage over the visiting Timberwolves, it appeared like the Bobcats were well on their way to sweeping the season series from Minnesota.
The Timberwolves though had other ideas and seemed determined to not go away quietly. Al Jefferson led the charge, scoring 28 of his 40 points in the second half to help get Minnesota back in the game.
With the Bobcats holding a 94-85 lead heading into the final period, Minnesota opened the fourth quarter knocking four of their first five shots to cut the lead to four. The two teams then exchanged buckets through much of the final period as Charlotte clung to a narrow advantage.
With 1:17 remaining Raymond Felton knocked down a turnaround three-pointer that gave Charlotte a 120-115 lead. Jefferson answered with a layup and was fouled, but missed the ensuing free throw. Offensive rebounding paid dividends for Minnesota as it gave them two more chances on their end. With 15.2 seconds remaining, Jefferson took advantage, knocking down a six-foot jump shot to pull the Timberwolves to within one (120-119).
Felton was fouled, but couldn’t convert the free throws. With the Timberwolves looking to take their first lead of the game, Randy Foye drove the lane, but his pass missed its mark and went sailing out of bounds.
The Bobcats inbounded the ball to Matt Carroll, who was immediately fouled. With one second left in the game, Carroll knocked down the first shot, but then purposely missed the second hoping time would run off the clock.
“I was surprised that only three-tenths of a second went off the clock (when Minnesota got the rebound),” he said after the game. “The idea (in missing the second free throw) was the more time would come off the clock.”
Minnesota had time for one more play. Charlotte’s defense held tough as a 19-foot jumper from Jefferson came up just short giving the Bobcats a 121-119 victory.
“It was closer than we wanted but we are still trying to learn how to win close games,” said Head Coach Sam Vincent. “Hopefully this will be a learning experience for the guys to be able to weather some storms and still come out with a win.”
“We just kept on playing hard,” added Jason Richardson. “We knew they were going to make a run, and they made a big run. They had a chance to tie the game at the end, but we kept our composure and we got a win tonight.”

Charlotte went down inside early and it paid off. Behind Nazr Mohammed and Emeka Okafor, the Bobcats made five straight shots to start the game. They continued to light it up through the first quarter, connecting on 11 of their first 13 buckets to help them build a double-figure advantage over Minnesota midway through the first frame.
Charlotte’s momentum carried into the second quarter as a jump shot from Mohammed gave the Bobcats an 18-point advantage, their largest of the game, with 7:29 left before halftime.
“We had a good team effort,” said Carroll. “We were trying to come out and set the tone early and put them away early, but they kept fighting until the end and made it a good game. Fortunately we got the win a the end.”
It was a total team effort from the Bobcats that propelled them to the win. The Bobcats were able to hang tough as Minnesota made their run.
"We didn't get rattled at them." said Richardson. "We've been going through that all season where we're winning at halftime and we let a team make a run (in the third quarter) and we lose our composure and end up losing the game. (Tonight) shows that, as a team, we're building and we're getting better."
All five starters finished in double-figures and Charlotte finished the game shooting 62.3 percent from the field.
Richardson led the way with 36 points on 11-of-21 shooting including 5-of-8 from three-point range. Carroll was on fire from the field shooting 7-of-8 from the floor to finish with 22 points. Okafor added 20 points (8-11 FG) and seven rebounds and Felton finished with a double-double with 15 points and 11 assists.
Mohammed carried the Bobcats in the early going scoring all 17 of his points in the first half. He also added eight rebounds and four assists to Charlotte’s cause.
“It was nice to get all of the guys really involved,” said Vincent. “Nazr Mohammed got off to a really nice start and Matt Carroll had a really nice shooting game tonight."

A problem that has plagued the Bobcats recently reared its' head again on Tuesday. Charlotte gave up too many offensive rebounds allowing Minnesota extra looks at the basket. The Timberwolves corralled 15 offensive boards to just five by the Bobcats, which allowed Minnesota to outscore Charlotte 28 to 4 in second chance points.
“We did some good things tonight, but I think what really hurt us was that we were not able to control them on their offensive boards,” said Vincent. “Al (Jefferson) got too many second chance opportunities and with the big kid Craig (Smith), they were active around the boards.”
The Timberwolves also got hot from the field in the second half. After shooting just 41.2 percent from the field in the first half, Minnesota shot 63 percent from the field in the closing 24 minutes.
Jefferson had a dominating performance going 18-of-25 from the field en route to his 40-point night. He also had 10 rebounds including five offensive boards.

Jason Richardson continues to lead the Bobcats and tonight was no exception. His 36-point outburst was his 15th game this season in which he has scored 30 or more points. That ties him with Gerald Wallace for the franchise record for career 30-point games. In addition, he added five rebounds and four assists.
“He has been incredible,” said Vincent. “Offensively, you can look at the stats and see that he always has a range between 35-38 points. It doesn’t even look like he is scoring that many points, but his three-point game has been so effective. He’s been our life source because without him scoring the way he has we would struggle.”

The stat lines tallied by Jason Richardson and Al Jefferson tonight were enough to make any fantasy owner ecstatic.
Richardson: 36 points, 11-21 FG, 5-8 3FG, 9-12 FT, 5 Rebounds, 4 Assists.
Jefferson: 40 points, 18-25 FG, 4-5 FT, 5 Offensive Rebounds, 10 Total Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Block

The Bobcats scored a season-high 121 points tonight against Minnesota.

“It always tough to win on the road,” said Carroll as he talked about the Bobcats upcoming three-game road trip, “but we’re going to try to win the rest of the games we have left. That’s our goal. We have to finish strong and carry the momentum into next season.”

BOBCATS: Sean May (right knee surgery), Adam Morrison (torn left ACL), Othella Harrington (left knee discomfort), Gerald Wallace (left groin soreness), Derek Anderson (lateral back pain)
TIMBERWOLVES: Sebastian Telfair (left ankle sprain)

Wednesday, April 9 - Bobcats at New York Knicks - 7:30 p.m.
TV - SportSouth; Radio - WOLS OLDIES 106.1 FM