Charlotte Bobcats edge past Toronto Raptors 98-97 in a thriller: NBA Recap
Kemba Walker scored 19 points and dished out seven assists to inspire Charlotte Bobcats in the come-from-behind win over the Toronto Raptors (98-97) at the Time Warner Cable Arena Wednesday night.
Seven Bobcats made it into double scoring figures. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Ramon Sessions both scored 14; Ben Gordon came off the bench to score 13 points while Byron Mullens posted 10 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
Andrea Bargnani was red hot, with a game-high 25 points and was well supported by Kyle Lowry who returned to the starting lineup and mustered 21 points with 8 assists. Rookie Jonas Valanciunas scored 16 points and hauled down 10
rebounds for the Raptors as well.
Toronto Raptors could have been the victorious tonight if they have not missed 5 basket opportunities in the last 28.3 second that included a Bargnani miss at the buzzer.
Despite winning four of the last 5 games, the Bobcats have been struggling with shooting from behind the arc. They shot a partly 15.8 percent from the three point range in tonight’s victory and are now averaging just 23.6 percent
in their last 5 games. This puts them at the bottom of the league in terms of three-point conversion.
The Raptors were up 8-2 after a Bargnani dunk shot early in the period. They followed up their good start with continuous baskets and were up 17-9 when Lowry slammed one home from downtown. Charlotte took some time to get warmed
up and they started slashing the deficit later in the period. Walker knocked down a three pointer for the Bobcats; they scored only 3 on the night, to cut the deficit down to 16-19. The Bobcats were trailing 22-25 by the end of the period.
Charlotte were up 30-29 after the early going of the second period. Later on, Valanciunas made a layup to put the Raptors up 35-32 before the Bobcats tied the score on 35. Some quick points late in the period had the Bobcats leading
48-42 before the Raptors responded with a 6-0 run to tie the score on 48. Both teams were all square on 53 as they headed into the second half.
Raptors started the third period sharply; they were 63-55 early before the Bobcats came back and tied the score on 67 with a Sessions jumper. It was neck and neck between both teams as the Raptors headed into the final period trailing
by one.
The Charlotte started the final period with a bang and were up 86-76 in no time. The Raptors responded with a 12-2 run of their own to tie the score at 88. It was all square on 93 before Demar DeRozan scored 3 quick points to put
the Raptors up 96-93. Walker replied by scoring three for Bobcats to negate the deficit to nil, with less than a minute on the regulation. A Sessions jumper had the Bobcats up 98-97 and then they defended well in the last half minute to sneak in a win.
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