Bobcats-Timberwolves Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Feb 14 2012 1:48PM

The Charlotte Bobcats' franchise-record losing streak has coincided with injuries to key contributors.

The return of D.J. Augustin and a date with the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves could be exactly what they need to get on track.

Visiting Charlotte looks to end its 15-game skid by earning its fifth straight win over Minnesota when the teams meet Wednesday night.

Augustin has been out since injuring his toe Jan. 22, while Gerald Henderson has missed seven of the last 10 games while dealing with back and hamstring problems.

Corey Maggette - who missed 19 games from Jan. 6-Feb. 7 with a strained left hamstring - scored a season-high 22 points and rookie Kemba Walker added 21 on Monday, though they couldn't help prevent a 98-89 loss to Philadelphia.

Coach Paul Silas said Augustin will return Wednesday, and he's optimistic Henderson can be in the lineup by the end of the week.

"I keep saying that once we get everybody back, we're going to be good," said Silas, whose team is an NBA-worst 3-25. "If you give me back 15 (points) from D.J. Augustin and 15 from Gerald Henderson, that's 30 points we're missing. I think we'll be a lot better."

Walker made his first career start in Charlotte's last victory, scoring a season-high 23 points a 112-100 win over Golden State on Jan. 14. He has started each game since, averaging 14.9 points.

"We had a better effort tonight," Maggette said Monday. "Tonight, we played better and we actually had a chance. For us, that's a step in the right direction."

Though the progress seems minimal, the Bobcats hope they've improved enough to beat Minnesota for the ninth time in 10 tries. The Timberwolves (13-16) suffered their fourth consecutive defeat Tuesday, 102-89 at Orlando.

Minnesota is much improved from last season's 17-win team, though coach Rick Adelman expects more.

"You've got to go out and play," Adelman said. "They're not going to stop this season because we've lost four in a row. We've been in games, but we just haven't been able to put one away."

Kevin Love has recorded a double-double in 25 of his 27 games after finishing with 19 points and 15 rebounds Tuesday. Minnesota's previous three losses had come by a combined 14 points.

"We just have to stay together and really have a sense of urgency to win," Love said. "We have to continue to build as a team and right now we're not doing that. Everybody, including myself, needs to step up. Coach Adelman and the coaching staff can only do so much. It's really on us to break the barrier and have a breakthrough with this team."

Love had 35 points and 14 rebounds while Michael Beasley added 28 and 12 in the most recent meeting with Charlotte on Jan. 5, 2011, but Augustin scored 16 points to lead the Bobcats to a 108-105 overtime win.

That was Love's only double-digit rebounding effort in six career games versus Charlotte.

Minnesota last beat the Bobcats 108-100 on March 14, 2009.

T-wolves hand Bobcats 16th straight loss, 102-90

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
Posted Feb 15 2012 11:30PM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Charlotte Bobcats were in prime position to snap a 15-game losing streak when D.J. Augustin returned to the lineup and helped them take the lead into halftime.

By the time the dust settled on yet another loss, the Bobcats were still trying to figure out the license number on the 6-foot-11, 290-pound Montenegrin truck that ran them over in the final 24 minutes.

Kevin Love had 30 points and 18 rebounds, and Nikola Pekovic added 21 points and 11 boards while playing the entire second half to help the Minnesota Timberwolves hand the Bobcats their 16th loss in a row, 102-90 on Wednesday night.

"I thought we did OK against Kevin because he shot a lot of outside shots," Bobcats coach Paul Silas said. "But the other kid. Pep-a-vich his name is? Whatever, he just killed us down there."

Pekovic had just six points on 3-for-9 shooting in the first half, but scored 15 while going 7 for 8 from the field and bulldozing rookie Bismack Biyombo over the final two quarters.

"We had four losses in a row," said Pekovic, who played a career-high 43 minutes. "This was our game. We needed to win this game and we won."

Kemba Walker had 21 points and six rebounds and Corey Maggette scored 18 points for the Bobcats, who have lost 22 of the last 23 games. Augustin played for the first time in 12 games, but his return wasn't enough to lift Charlotte out of the worst losing streak in franchise history.

Augustin had nine points and four turnovers in 24 minutes.

"My timing was off a little bit, but it was good for me to get back out there," he said. "Hopefully next game, everything will be intact."

The Bobcats were feisty for the first three quarters, leading by nine points early, by two at halftime and keeping it tied at 66 with 3 minutes to go in the third. But the Wolves closed the third on a 10-0 run, and the Bobcats wilted in the fourth.

Luke Ridnour, who has struggled mightily with his shot the last four games, scored six points in a 13-4 surge to open the fourth, and J.J. Barea hit a deep 3 for an 89-70 lead.

"It's hard to go into a half-court set against their guys," Silas said. "They have big guys down low. They're not shot blockers, but they're big. They put us in a situation where we didn't capitalize."

The Bobcats haven't won since Jan. 14 against Golden State, a woeful stretch in which the team has been beset by injuries to key players. Augustin came off the bench in his return from an 11-game absence because of an inflamed right toe and Maggette played in his fourth game since missing time with a strained left hamstring.

Gerald Henderson is out with a strained right hamstring, so Silas hasn't had his complete roster available for almost the entire season.

The Timberwolves have struggled with slow starts for most of the season, especially at home. Another one Wednesday night helped the Bobcats race out to a 15-6 lead and get some much-needed confidence.

"We knew if we were able to go on one of our runs, they weren't going to be able to fight back and get a win against us," Love said. "We were happy to get this one. We surely needed it."

As crazy as it sounds, the Wolves were nearly as desperate as Charlotte. After winning five of seven to creep into the playoff conversation in the West, they had faltered and faced a brutal stretch of games coming up that includes Houston, Philadelphia, Denver, Utah and a trip out west to face the Clippers and Lakers.

To illustrate, the Wolves were up 18 with 4 minutes to play and Love, who leads the league in minutes and could use a little rest, didn't sit until there was under 2 minutes to go.

Barea had 12 points and eight assists and Ridnour scored 10 points for the Wolves.

"We've got a real tough schedule before the break and even after the break," Ridnour said. "So just to get off the four-game losing streak and get some positive energy going for this team is what we need."

NOTES: Love said before the game that the aquarium at the Mall of America plans to name an octopus after him. Can't see the resemblance? Both have very strong grippers, of course. ... Silas and Wolves assistant Jack Sikma were teammates in Seattle from 1977-80. "I made him tough," Silas said, smiling.

Notebook: Wolves 102, Bobcats 90

Posted Wednesday February 15, 2012 11:14PM

By Jim Beilby, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Minnesota Timberwolves got another big night from Kevin Love as they defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 102-90 on Wednesday night. With the victory, the Minnesota Timberwolves ended their four-game losing streak and in doing so the Charlotte Bobcats extended their losing streak to 16 games, the longest losing streak in franchise history. Charlotte is now 1-15 on the road. Love scored 30 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for Minnesota, overcoming 21 from Kemba Walker and 18 from Corey Maggette.

QUOTABLE: "They came out and shot the ball well and we were slow getting into the game and gave up 30 points in the first quarter. After that we were pretty good defensively and we executed a lot better offensively. Especially in the end of the third and the fourth quarter."
-- Minnesota coach Rick Adelman

THE STAT: Minnesota took care of the ball, made good passes and hit their shots, especially down the stretch. They shot 43-for-85 (50.6 percent) for the game and accumulated 26 assists with only 13 turnovers. In the third and fourth quarters, Minnesota shot 59.1 percent and 55.6 percent respectively. And perhaps most significantly, they avoided the costly turnovers late in the game that contributed to their four game losing streak. They only had two turnovers in the final frame.

TURNING POINT: After trailing for all but a couple of seconds in the first half, Minnesota opened up a lead after halftime and closed the third quarter with a 14-5 run to enter the final frame with a 76-66 lead. In the fourth quarter, they quickly extended their lead to 19 points on strong play from Luke Ridnour and Nikola Pekovic.

QUOTABLE II: "They forced me into some tough shots in the end of the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter, so other guys stepped up. Pek [Nikola Pekovic] had a big game, Luke [Ridnour] hit some shots, J. J. [Barea] hit some shots. All the way around, guys stepped up and let us go on that run [that sealed the game]."
-- Minnesota forward Kevin Love

NOTABLE: Pekovic has been found his stride recently. Wednesday, with 21 points and 11 rebounds (five offensive), he notched his seventh double-double in the last 11 games. Prior to that, he had only one career double-double. With 30 points and 18 rebounds, Love recorded his 10th 30-10 game. The next closest player in the league has only five 30-10 games.

UP NEXT: For the Wolves, Friday @ Houston, Sunday vs. Philadelphia, Monday @ Denver. For the Bobcats, Friday @ Toronto, Sunday @ Indiana, Wednesday vs. Indiana.

• Bobcats: Henderson, Najera
• Timberwolves: Lee, Randolph

• Bobcats: Maggette
• Timberwolves: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Officials: #43 Dan Crawford, #74 Curtis Blair, #63 Derek Richardson
• Attendance: 15139
• Duration: 2:01