Bobcats notch first-ever win in Cleveland

By Sam Amico, For NBA.com
Posted Sunday January 3, 2010 10:10PM

CLEVELAND (NBA.com exclusive) -- The Charlotte Bobcats believe they have a real shot at making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. And now might be a good time for everyone else to start believing it, too.

That's because for the second time in two tries, the Bobcats have beaten the mighty Cleveland Cavaliers. This time, they did it on the Cavs' own court, emerging with a 91-88 victory Sunday for their first-ever win at Quicken Loans Arena.

Prior to Sunday, the Bobcats were 0-10 lifetime at The Q, making Cleveland the only Eastern Conference city in which they had never won. It should also be noted that the Bobcats beat the Cavs back in November in Charlotte, guaranteeing themselves at least a split in the four-game season series.

Perhaps more importantly, the Bobcats (14-18) have compiled two road victories in two days after winning in Miami on Friday.

It's no wonder Bobcats coach Larry Brown emerged from the visitors' locker room wearing a large grin and simply saying, "We're undefeated on the road in 2010."

How have the Bobcats done it?

The answer is improved balance (and a few gutsy shots) on offense, and increased effort and tenacity on defense. At least, that's what the Bobcats are telling everyone.

"We played great; a lot of different guys played well," Brown said. "We defended very well. I'm proud of our team because Cleveland is as good as anyone in the league."

One of the guys Brown spoke of was Stephen Jackson, who led the Bobcats with 22 points. Another was reserve guard Flip Murray, who buried a 25-foot 3-pointer at the top of the key with 1:16 left in the game -- thwarting a Cavs' run and giving the Bobcats a 86-83 lead.

And yet another was point guard Raymond Felton, who hit a couple of big free throws and a 14-foot jump shot to keep the Cavs (27-9) at bay.

"After Flip made that shot, all we had to do was get stops," Jackson said. "It's a great way to start off the year and to get some confidence and momentum."

As well as the Bobcats played, the outcome wasn't decided until Cavs star LeBron James missed a fallaway three in the corner at the final buzzer. The shot was high-arching and looked like it might be good while in the air, but bounced off the front of the rim and fell out.

"I definitely thought I had a good shot at it, a good look at it," James said. "With the clock running out, you just need to try to get one up there."

The loss snapped the Cavs' 11-game home winning streak. They had also won seven in a row overall.

"You have to give Charlotte credit," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "Throughout the course of the game, we took a lot of shots late in the shot clock. You have to attribute that to the way Charlotte defended us. They trapped us and forced us to be real slow in getting into our offense."

James led the otherwise flat Cavs with 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Mo Williams added 27 points.

Meanwhile, Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace continued to make a case for the All-Star team, finishing with 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds to add to what has become a career year. On top of recording his 20th double-double of the season, Wallace went 5-for-10 from the field and an icy 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.

But clearly, Wallace is like the rest of the Bobcats and placing his focus on doing what it takes to get to the playoffs.

"It's special to us because we're trying to get our road record turned around," Wallace said. "Two wins (in a row) on the road is big for us, so we'll start off on a new page and build from here."

Added Jackson: "Hopefully, we can ride this confidence and, at the same time, understand we have room to improve. But I feel confident about the way we are playing right now. ... To be able to beat them two out of three teams shows that we can play with anybody."

• Bobcats: Ajinca, Chandler
• Cavaliers: Green, Karl, Powe

• Bobcats: --
• Cavaliers: --

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #19 James Capers, #74 Curtis Blair
• Attendance: 20562
• Duration: 2:8