Charlotte Bobcats defeat Atlanta Hawks 96-85: NBA Update
The Charlotte Bobcats defeated the Atlanta Hawks 96-85 at Time Warner Cable Arena on Wednesday night, sending them to the playoffs on a six-game losing streak.
Even though the Bobcats were already out of the running for the playoffs, they capped their 2010-11 season by winning two consecutive games at the end.
Charlotte guard Gerald Henderson finished with 20 points, six assists, six rebounds and four steals. D.J. Augustin had 17 points and seven assists while forward Dante Cunningham finished with 14 points and six rebounds in the victory.
DJ White came off the bench with 12 points, while Centre Kwame Brown added 11 points and eight rebounds for the Bobcats, who have won two of their last five games. The performance of Atlanta's starters was not up to the mark as none of them managed to reach
double figures except guard Kirk Hinrich.
Josh Powell scored a team-high 16 points and five rebounds for the Hawks in a reserve role. Jamal Crawford and guard-forward Marvin Williams racked up 14 points each while Zaza Pachulia grabbed 10 rebounds in the defeat.
Hinrich and guard Jeff Teague contributed 10 points apiece for the Hawks, who have lost seven of their last 11 games.
Match Analysis
The Bobcats played their eighth consecutive game without their top scorer, Stephen Jackson, who is sidelined due to a hamstring injury. However, they did not seem bothered at all by his absence, as they shot 50 percent from the field with a squad of just
nine players.
Cunningham and Augustin scored eight of their points in the first quarter as Charlotte carried a 29-18 lead into the second. The Bobcats kept their distance in the second quarter and led by as many as 17 points. A pair of free throws by Henderson with 37
seconds to go in the quarter made it a 61-43 at half time.
The Hawks fought hard in the third quarter and outscored Charlotte 23-13. However, the Bobcats managed to take a 74-66 lead into the final stanza.
Atlanta kept on fighting and cut the deficit to four points at 78-74 early in the fourth quarter. Charlotte then went on an 18-7 run to take a 96-81 lead with a minute remaining in the fourth. The Hawks scored four unanswered points in the last minute of
the game but the Bobcats’ lead was too much to overcome.
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