Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Bobcats get bolted by Oklahoma City Thunder in a 99-81 match-up
How about being the best player in NBA history, a six-time standing NBA Champion and 14-time NBA All-Star and still watching the team you own facing a fourth straight defeat? No one can stand that sight and it’s good to know that
Michael Jordan was not present there to witness that sorry sight of his team.
Time Warner Cable Arena witnessed the defeat of the Charlotte Bobcats as the OKC Thunder reduced them to an 18-point loss in front of more than 16,000 people. The lead changed 14 times and the game was tied seven times.
The leading scorer for the Bobcats was Stephen Jackson who had 20 points; Boris Diaw added 13 and Derrick Brown contributed 11 points to the Bobcats box score.
The team grabbed 12 team rebounds to add some colour to a rather washed-out game.
The OKC Thunder’s team was striking hard as always and Kevin Durant added 32 points to the box score that was already shining. Russell Westbrook scored 15 points and James Harden netted 13 for the Thunder. They also grabbed 12
team rebounds.
Replay
The Thunder had the game in their hands from the very onset. They kept the Bobcats at an arm’s length and went 44-32 in rebounding.
Turning point of the game
Jackson enveloped the game for the Bobcats in the very start of the fourth quarter. He earned his team awesome free throws and jump shots to give them a 69-68 lead over the Bobcats. He had a three-point play and latched on to a
7-0 run to wrap it up and bugged off the Bobcats with a big snap at the lead that they never relinquished.
The Thunder revolted to an edgy fourth quarter over the Bobcats. They went seven for seven from the line, took four of its seven shots from behind the arc and shot 62.5 percent from the floor. That’s quite a lot to offer in just
one quarter.
Weakest links
Charlotte Bobcats drowned in the fourth quarter, relinquishing 12 points and making their first goal on the 2:54 mark. They could only gather 4 for 16 from the floor in the very same quarter.
Quotes
“I have to make them understand how valuable the ball is, how to run from defense to offense and offense to defense, how to block out, share the ball,” said Charlotte Bobcats coach Larry Brown. “You can’t stop telling them, you
can’t stop coaching it.”
Game stats
The OKC grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and gave away 12 turnovers. Charlotte Bobcats had eight offensive rebounds and gave away 15 turnovers. OKC took a whopping 18 fast break points and Bobcats sufficed with only six. The OKC Thunder
took the biggest lead with 22 points and the Bobcats could only savour four. The OKC scooped 42 points in the paint whereas Bobcats had 38.
Well played, OKC
Kevin Durant was all smiles and vibrant as he described his team’s play later. "Our defense was good throughout the game and we kicked it up a notch in the fourth quarter. We were able to scramble and then get some easy baskets
on the other end."
More to watch
For the Thunder, Wednesday @ New York, Saturday vs. Denver, Monday vs. Dallas.
For the Bobcats, Monday vs. Detroit, Wednesday vs. Cleveland and Friday vs. Golden State.
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