Larry Brown via Kent Smith/NBAE/Getty Images

After blowing a 5 point lead with 23 seconds left in regulation, the Bobcats control overtime for an ugly 91-84 win over the Nets on Friday night at the Cable Box.

AP Recap |  Box Score

This one was excruciating to watch.  The score at the half was 33-32 and had me googling for the lowest combined point total for half of an NBA game (don’t worry, 51 points has been done a couple times in the second half; 55 is the lowest for a first half).  The rest of the game saw an uptick in scoring, but it was still ugly and boring.  And the last couple minutes of regulation that saw the Cats nearly give the game away were nauseating.

Overall, the Nets shot 31.9% for the game, allowing three Bobcats to hit double digits in rebounds.  The Bobcats shot a little better at 36%, but kept the Nets in it with 22 turnovers.

I wish I could laugh this one off with the old “a win is a win” adage, but the truth is that this was another disappointing performance in a season full of them so far.  And with the season approaching the quarter mark, the Cats are in danger of settling into being a disappointing team.

Observations

• The Bobcats emailed out a well-publicized message on behalf of Stephen Jackson on Friday afternoon.  Some communications major/PR person wrote a bit for Jack that contained an apology for his suspension and a promise to behave better.  In a nice turn of events, Jack seemed to take the whole issue to heart, was very much in control, and had a good game.  25 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds.  And maybe it was just a coincidence, a freak one night thing, but in this first game back from his suspension/wake-up call, Jack seemed rededicated to driving the ball to the hoop — and was rewarded for it with 13 foul shots, of which he hit 12.
• Gerald Wallace finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks, but still just looks off.  His stats are off from last years, but actually not as much as I expected them to be.  I keep waiting for him to break out of his funk, but it hasn’t happened yet.
• Boris had a nice line with 11 points, 16 rebounds and 8 assists and really shut down Brook Lopez.
• Dominic McGuire got the nod off the bench instead of Derrick Brown, but I can’t imagine that will happen much longer if Dom keeps shooting 1-7 FG and posting the worst +/- numbers on the team.
• The Nets were playing without Devin Harris (injury) and Terrence Williams (sent to D-League), so I guess that matters.  But man are they awful.  I can’t imagine any other teams the Bobcats could have defeated with this effort tonight.
• I think @CardboardGerald summed it up best with this tweet: “Bobcats win, thousands die of boredom in tragic “game.” Never forget @BaselineDrE. He was brave.”  Indeed.  12/3 Never Forget.
• Bobcats are in Philadelphia to take on the 5-14 76ers Saturday night — 7:30 PM ET start.  Needless to say, if the Cats want to hang around in the playoff conversation in the East, this is the kind of game they need to put in the win column.

-Dr. E

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