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NBAE / Getty Images
Boris Diaw hit the game-winning 3-pointer with
2.9 seconds left at Golden State. |
February 27, 2009
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OAKLAND - Raymond Felton had 26 points and nine assists, Boris Diaw made a key 3-pointer down the stretch and the Charlotte Bobcats rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Golden State Warriors 112-109 on Friday night.
Diaw finished with 22 points and five assists while Emeka Okafor added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte (23-36), which won for just the fourth time in its last 13 games.
Stephen Jackson scored 33 points and had eight assists for Golden State (20-38), losers of three of its last four. Jackson also threw away the Warriors' last opportunity to score while trying to inbound the ball to Kelenna Azubuike with 1.6 seconds left.
Golden State blew a five-point lead early in the fourth quarter but was ahead 109-107 on a pair of free throws by Jackson with 18.8 seconds remaining. Felton then missed two shots for the Bobcats before Diaw's 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left put Charlotte in front.
Jackson then tried to inbound the ball to Watson, who was making a rare start in place of shooting guard Jamal Crawford. Jackson threw the ball to the right while Watson broke left, allowing the Bobcats to take over. Felton was then fouled quickly and made both free throws to seal the win.
Gerald Wallace finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte, which snapped a four-game road losing streak to the Warriors.
Andris Biedrins had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Golden State, which trailed by six points at halftime but opened the third quarter with a 16-5 run to take the lead. Biedrins had nine of his points during the spurt then later added a dunk to make it 73-68.
The Bobcats recovered and scored 10 unanswered points to close out the quarter and take an 89-86 edge into the fourth but the Warriors went on another big run to go up 96-91.
Golden State played without its entire starting backcourt. Crawford, who scored 50 points in Golden State's 110-103 win over Charlotte on Dec. 20, was given the night off by coach Don Nelson as part of a plan to give the team's younger players more exposure the remainder of the season. Point guard Monta Ellis, sidelined recently with ankle stiffness, was out of town due to a family emergency.
Crawford, Golden State's third-leading scorer who was obtained in a trade from the Knicks earlier this season, attended the game and sat near Nelson on Warriors bench while dressed in street clothes. He is expected back in the lineup for Sunday's game against Utah.
Watson had 10 points and three assists in place of Crawford while Marco Bellinelli had six points in place of Ellis.
Felton and Diaw had 12 points apiece in the first half for Charlotte, which led by 10 before a late Golden State run closed it to 61-55 at halftime. The Bobcats went 14 of 19 from the floor in the second quarter, getting three baskets and three blocked shots from DaSagana Diop.
Maggette, who has been bothered by a sore shooting hand, came off the bench and had 15 in the first half for the Warriors.
Notes: Ellis is expected to rejoin the Warriors some time next week. ... Before the game, Nelson announced Jackson would be the next veteran to have a day off and will not play against the Jazz
Bobcats Head Coach Larry Brown
(On the game)
"They are hard to guard. We didn’t do a good job in the third quarter and again we struggled taken care of the ball. I thought in the fourth quarter we guarded much better. A lot of people made big plays, Raymond (Felton) made a bunch, Boris (Diaw) with his three and Emeka (Okafor) made a key free throws. We went a little brain dead thinking we were behind but we ended up getting it done. They are tough at home. They are well coached offensively that they create so many problems for you that we have to feel fortunate that we won."
"You know Emeka (Okafor) is not a great free throw shooter and we were just saying if (Andris) Biedrins got the rebound on the second one we would foul but he made the second one. I think Boris (Diaw) just lost track of the score. He’s smarter than most coaches on our bench, me included, so he just made a play just to make it exciting."
Bobcats guard Raymond Felton
(On the game)
"I went to the basket and I just twisted it up there. It is kind of my shot, if I know that I can not take the jump shot, I just take two more extra dribbles and take that floater. After Stephen Jackson hit those free throws, I was thinking I still need to try and get a shot, no matter what. I penetrated inside the lane, got all the way to the basket, kicked it out to Raja Bell, and he found the open man with the extra pass. Nine times out of ten if you make that extra pass in basketball that shot is going to fall in, and that is what Boris Diaw did."
Bobcats forward Boris Diaw
(On the game)
"We ran back, tried to run a play, we moved the ball and it ended up in my hand and I shot the three. I thought it was going to be tough to come back after I fouled Stephen Jackson, but we had to try and tie the game in the last seconds. This team has had a lot of training to make a lot of outside shots. It is really being able to find the next open man, and being un-selfish. The playoffs is what we are going for right now, it is what we are playing for every night, trying to get closer to that 8th spot. We have to force the Clippers to have a bad night."
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