Charlotte Bobcats vs Hawks, 4/6/10
The Charlotte Bobcats defeated the Atlanta Hawks 109-100 at the Cable Box on Tuesday night. The win ensures that the Cats will finish no worse than .500 for the season; however, the Cats remained mired in the 7th spot in the East as the Bogut-less Bucks also won again.
AP recap here | Box score here
The Hawks started Jeff Teague and Mo Evans in place of Mike Bibby (toe) and Joe Johnson (thumb) and did not get off to a good start. The Bobcats throttled them 34-14 in the opening quarter, with Gerald Wallace slashing to the basket on Evans at will. Wallace finished with a game-high 28 points (10-18 FG, 8-8 FT) and 6 rebounds.
The Cats continued to shoot well (51% on the game) and went into halftime with a 23-point lead. Things were looking good for banged up stars of the Bobcats to possibly have an easy night. Gerald Wallace played the game with some sort of mini-shoulder pad thing on his left shoulder, while Stephen Jackson wore a wrap around his left hamstring that he readjusted frequently throughout the night.
But alas, it’s the NBA and everyone makes a run. Atlanta was able to chip away at the Cats lead in the third quarter behind Jamal Crawford and Mo Evans. The persistent Hawks were eventually able to cut the Bobcats lead to 9 points with 8 minutes left, forcing Larry Brown to keep the starters in for the bulk of the fourth quarter.
The move worked, as the Hawks were never able to get the lead below 9. After Raymond Felton weaved through the Hawks backcourt pressure to get a driving layup to put the Cats up by 13 with two minutes left, the Hawks conceded by subbing Randolph Morris and Mario West into the game. But with 3 more games remaining this week and an outside chance of overtaking the Bucks for the 6th spot, it would have been ideal night to have been able to give the starters some rest in the fourth quarter.
Tidbits
- Boris Diaw came thisclose again to notching the Bobcats first triple-double: 17 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists.
- The Cats were the aggressors all night, finishing with 32 free throw attempts to the Hawks 13. Both teams were lights out from the line: Cats 28-32, Hawks 12-13.
- DJ Augustin was perfect from the field in 13 strong minutes off the bench: 4-4 FG including 3-3 3PT for 11 points.
- The Bobcats hit the road for a quick 2-game trip. They’ll face New Orleans Wednesday night at 8 PM ET, then Houston Friday night at 8:30 PM ET.
im still waiting for either Miami or 'Waukee to drop. they just have too.
all-around game for the Cats tonight though. it was good to see Chandler actually doing something that wasnt ice related
Joe Gibbs took in the game tonight sitting in my section with his grandkids. Go Skins, and Bobcats of course
Spot on breakdown, Newsinz. We recognized weeks ago that Miami had one of, if not THE, easiest remaining schedules in the league, and they've taken advantage of it.
Throw in Bogut's injury and Milwaukee's remaining schedule and it looks like it's the Bucks who we have a chance of overtaking for the 6th spot.
Bosh's injury last night makes it even more likely that the our season finale against the Bulls will be high-stakes. One could easily imagine that we could be playing that night for a chance at the 6th spot, while the Bulls could be playing for a chance at the 8th spot.
I’d bet on Milwaukee to slip before the Heat.
The Bucks play the Nets and Philly this week, then close the season on a tough run against Boston, Atlanta, and @ Boston.
Miami goes on a draft lottery tour against Philly, Detroit, @ New York, @ Philly, and New Jersey. I’d be surpised if Miami lost more than one of those scrimmages.
Our degree of difficulty is somewhere in the middle: @ New Orleans, @ Houston (who would still be in playoff contention in the East), Detroit, @ New Jersey (yikes!), and against Chicago (who could very well be playing for their playoff lives at that point).
If we take care of business, we have a good chance of passing Milwaukee in the seedings. I’d LOVE to see Atlanta in the 1st round.
GO CATS!
I like the Bobcats. They may just make the playoffs this year.