AP Photo/John Bazemore
Without an injured Gerald Wallace, the Bobcats fell to the Atlanta Hawks 90-85 on Friday night at Phillips Arena. Joe Johnson, Al Horford and Marvin Williams led a balanced Hawks attack with 16 points each.
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The Bobcats never led, but were able to stay within spitting distance. They closed to within 3 points with under two minutes left on two Stephen Jackson free throws. But a Hawks 20 second timeout, followed by a Williams layup off a Horford assist, then a Stephen Jackson missed three-point attempt would effectively end the game as the Cats fell to 3-11 on the road and 9-17 overall.
Observations
- Stephen Jackson suffered an right elbow injury in the first half. It’s unclear exactly how/when it happened, but he was in enough pain to get x-rays at the half, then suggest after the game that he shouldn’t have played in the second half after the x-rays proved negative. Obviously, the injury will be re-evaluated over the weekend.
- Boris Diaw led the Cats with 22 points (10-15 FG), 7 rebounds and 3 steals. DJ Augustin also had 22, but it was off of 9-19 FG, which includes 1-7 3PT. Ouch. Dominic McGuire played 40 minutes, grabbing 17 rebounds but shooting 3-12 from the floor.
- The Bobcats have now lost seven in a row to the Hawks at Phillips arena.
- In just the latest red flag about this team, several of their postgame comments were positively rosy after shooting 38% and never leading. Coach Larry Brown and Stephen Jackson were encouraged by/satisfied with the effort, particularly on the defensive end, while Nazr Mohammed felt like the Cats were starting to develop an identity, and that he could at least sleep after this game (relative to the recent blowout in Memphis).
- Next game is Tuesday night in Charlotte versus the Oklahoma City Thunder. Tipoff is 7 PM ET. It’s unclear as to whether Gerald Wallace or Stephen Jackson will be available.