Resurgent Bobcats overcome the Bulls 96-91 in a gripping encounter
Charlotte Bobcats held on for a hard-fought 96-91 win over the visiting Chicago Bulls in an exciting contest at the Time Warner Cable Arena on Wednesday night. The result marks the Bobcat’s 15th win of the 2010-11 NBA regular season.
High-Flying Players
The Bobcats were led by a balanced attack, as six players scored in double-figures. Bobcats guard D.J. Augustin continued to play like an MVP (Most Valuable Player), finishing with 22 points, 14 rebounds, and three assists. Tyrus Thomas provided a spark off the bench by chipping in with 17 points and 13 rebounds in Charlotte’s fourth straight win. Stephen Jackson also played well as he contributed 16 points, three assists, and four rebounds. Gerald Wallace returned after missing most of the past month with a left ankle injury to score 14 points and seven rebounds in the win.
D.J. Augustin told reporters after the game, "We're having fun and playing together out there. If I am hitting shots, they have to come out and play me and that allows me to better get it to my team-mates. They have confidence in me and I know they will knock them down too.”
Only three Chicago players scored in double figures. Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds in the defeat. Luol Deng did all he could as he added 22 points for Chicago, who lost for only the fifth time in their last twenty games. Derrick Rose had a low-key but effective game with 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting.
Match Analysis
The Charlotte Bobcats went out onto the home court, shared the basketball, and ran all over the visiting team.
Augustin got things going early, and started the first possession of the game with a jumper off a 2/4 pick and roll with Boris Diaw. The Bobcats got it going offensively from the start, surging ahead by as many as 16 points late in the first quarter, on their way to a 36-22 lead heading into the second.
In the second quarter, Wallace hit a significant three-pointer, which stalled a 6-0 Bulls run and gave the Bobcats a 43-29 advantage. Thomas made one of his two free throws in the dying seconds of the quarter to give Charlotte a 55-42 lead at half time. Scoring 6-for-10 from behind the arc in the first half, the Bobcats saw the team miss all 11 of its three-point attempts in the second half. Fortunately, the Bobcats started taking the ball to the hoop after Chicago took the lead at the close of the third quarter.
A delighted Tyrus Thomas, in a post-match interview, said, "This is a game I'm always extra anxious to play in. Coach (Silas) told me to keep shooting and they started falling for me. I just tried to key on my defence and rebound out there and let everything else come to me."
The Bulls got themselves back into the game in the third stanza with an unbeatable 28 points, while holding their opponents to just 14 points. Chicago carried a 70-69 lead into the final stanza. The Bobcats regained their shooting touch in the fourth quarter, which saw back-to-back athletic plays by forward Tyrus Thomas. On the offensive end, Thomas made a fantastic reverse lay-up to put the Bobcats ahead for good at 90-89 with less than two minutes to go on the clock. He then hustled for a defensive rebound, forcing it to go out of bounds off the Bulls, which set-up a basket by Stephen Jackson that sealed the home victory.
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