The Charlotte Bobcats met the expectations of a home crowd, trouncing the slumping Houston Rockets at Time Warner Cable Arena, 99 - 89. The great home victory for Bobcats was witnessed by 16,473 cheering fans.
Gerald Wallace (21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds) led the way, in addition to another superb game from Boris Diaw (20 points and 10 boards) for the Bobcats. Stephen Jackson contributed 16 points grabbed 4 assists and 3 rebound.
Nazr Mohammed added 15 points and seven rebounds in his return to the starting lineup.
Chase Budinger posted 19 points for the Houston Rockets Kevin Martin added 16 points off the bench, grabbed 2 assists, and 3 rebounds, but they combined to shoot 12 of 32 from the field for the Rockets.
Houston played the first quarter of the game fantastically, 26 – 22. Martin and Budinger hit 3 –pointers each for Houston.
The first half of the game was totally controlled by Houston, 52 – 45.
Wallace's slump continued with a poor 2 of 10 shooting first half, Jackson getting into an early foul leaving the Bobcats with few offensive options.
The scenario of the game changed in the third quarter where the Bobcats took charge of the game.
Jackson had a 3-pointer with 2:41 left, putting Charlotte ahead 93-82 as it recovered from an 11-point, first-half deficit.
The Bobcats headed the second half behind the versatile Diaw, who hit 9 of 14 shots. The Bobcats took a 72-68 lead entering the fourth.
Diaw remained very active during the final session of the game, scored on a post move, a mid-range jumper, and a driving layup in just over a minute to put Charlotte ahead 82-76 with 7:03 left.
The Bobcat’s Taylor had a 3 - pointer with 00:35 left on the buzzer, but it was not of any use as the Bobcats won the game by a 10 point lead (89 – 99).
The Rockets Coach, Rick Adelman confirmed, Yao Ming (centre) and Aaron Brooks (point guard) are still "weeks away" from the team. Bobcat’s G Gerald Henderson missed seven games in a row thanks to a sore left knee.
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