The AP reports: Chris Bosh had 30 points and 15 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors pulled away late for an 89-79 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday. Andrea Bargnani scored 18 points for the Raptors, including a key 3-pointer with less than six minutes to go that put them ahead to stay.
Jose Calderon added 13 points and Jamario Moon had 10 for Toronto, which snapped a two-game losing streak after opening the season with three straight wins.
Bobcats rookie D.J. Augustin scored 11 of his 14 points in the second quarter in helping Charlotte take a 45-40 lead at the break. Jason Richardson and Raymond Felton had 12 points each, and Jared Dudley 10.
Category: Charlotte Hornets Blog
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Nov 7: Bobcats 92, Hornets 89
The AP reports: D.J. Augustin, the ninth pick in the draft and for now Felton’s backup, spearheaded Charlotte’s comeback Friday night, keying a fourth-quarter rally as the Bobcats spoiled Paul’s homecoming in a 92-89 victory over the New Orleans Hornets… Felton and Jason Richardson scored 20 points apiece for the Bobcats, who made 29 of 31 free throws and got a big contribution from the bench. Morrison was 3-of-5 on 3-pointers and scored nine points, getting feeds from Augustin… Chris Paul, who grew up 90 minutes away and bought 500 tickets for friends and family, recovered from a scoreless first half to have 20 points, 10 assists and six steals.
Adam Morrison talks with InsideHoops
Charlotte Bobcats small forward Adam Morrison averaged 11.8 points per game as a rookie in 2006-07, didn’t play last year, and is getting used to being back on the court in the early part of the new season. One big change is formerly famous long hair was now buzzed off; he almost looks like a totally different person. InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner met with Morrison in Madison Square Garden Wednesday night for an exclusive interview.
Read the Morrison interview on important subjects like haircuts and video games.
Nov 5: Knicks 101, Bobcats 98
The AP reports: Nate Robinson scored all of his 24 points in the first half, and the Knicks ruined Brown’s first game back at Madison Square Garden with a 101-98 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats… Zach Randolph had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Wilson Chandler added 18 points and Jamal Crawford had 14 of his 16 in the second half for the Knicks, who bounced back after poor offensive performances in consecutive losses… Raymond Felton scored 18 points and Jason Richardson added 17 for the Bobcats, who showed more fight for Brown than the Knicks often did. Emeka Okafor finished with 16 points and 15 boards, but Charlotte dropped its second straight and fell to 1-3 under its new coach.
Knicks old news for Larry Brown
Bobcats coach Larry Brown, who coached the Knicks in a mess of a season, moved on long ago from the New York experience. The Associated Press reports: “I just didn’t do what was expected of me, so I move on,” Larry Brown said before the game. “I was the coach here, so I realize what our record was and I can understand what Mr. Dolan was thinking, so you move on. But I don’t get any pleasure in anybody struggling.” … “Whatever happened, happened for a reason,” Brown said. “I don’t think Mr. Dolan didn’t give it a lot of thought and have input from a lot of people, and he decided it was best to move in another direction. He expected a lot from me and I guess I didn’t give him that and so you’ve got to respect that. He moved on, and I moved on.”
Nov 3: Pistons 101, Bobcats 83
The AP reports: Richard Hamilton scored 19 points and the Pistons toyed with Larry Brown’s Bobcats, improving to 3-0 and perhaps showing Iverson that he’ll have plenty of scoring options when he takes over at point guard… Rasheed Wallace added 15 points and four other players scored in double figures. Rodney Stuckey replaced the departed Billups at point guard and had nine points and three assists as Detroit shot 50 percent… Shannon Brown came off the bench to score 16 points, and Gerald Wallace had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte, which couldn’t build off Saturday’s win over Miami in the beginning of a week of reunions for the well-traveled Brown, who has his own problems… Held most of the time to one shot, the Bobcats were outrebounded 42-31.
Nov 1: Bobcats 100, Heat 87
The AP reports: A more aggressive Gerald Wallace scored 34 points Saturday, leading the hot-shooting, free-flowing Charlotte Bobcats past the Miami Heat 100-87 to end a month of frustration. After a winless preseason and an ugly loss at Cleveland to open the regular season, Wallace, Jason Richardson and Emeka Okafor led an efficient, hustling performance that gave the well-traveled Brown his 1,011th career win… Jason Richardson added 23 points and Okafor had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Charlotte, which shot 54 percent, controlled the boards and took advantage of Dwyane Wade’s off night to spoil Heat rookie coach Erik Spoelstra’s 38th birthday. Rookie Michael Beasley capped his opening week with 25 points for the Heat, who couldn’t build off Friday’s blowout win over Sacramento. Wade, hampered by foul trouble, added 19 points on 5-of-15 shooting, while Udonis Haslem scored 16 points.
Sean May is out of shape
The AP reports: Bobcats forward Sean May was on the inactive list for Saturday’s game against Miami, two days after coach Larry Brown criticized his fitness following a sluggish performance in the season opener. May started in Charlotte’s 96-79 loss to Cleveland on Thursday night, but was 0-for-6 from the field and played only three minutes in the second half.
InsideHoops.com editor (Jeff) says: I hope he didn’t try to eat the bench while sitting on it. Because then the bench would disappear. And everyone sitting on it would fall down. Someone could get hurt.
Oct 30: Cavs 96, Bobcats 79
The AP reports: LeBron James scored 22 points but was resting on the bench when Cleveland regained control in the fourth quarter, and the Cavaliers won their home opener 96-79 over Charlotte on Thursday night to spoil well-traveled coach Larry Brown’s debut with the Bobcats. Daniel Gibson scored 25 points—20 in the first half—and Mo Williams added 17 in his home debut for Cleveland, which put away the Bobcats while James sat… James barely missed a triple-double, adding nine rebounds and nine assists in only 30 minutes for the Cavs, who let the Bobcats trim a 19-point lead to five in the third quarter… Jason Richardson scored 24 and Gerald Wallace 13 for the Bobcats… Cavs C Ben Wallace had five blocks.
Bobcats sign Linton Johnson
Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed forward Linton Johnson III. The Bobcats roster now stands at 15 players.
Johnson (6-8, 205 pounds) appeared in four preseason games with Washington this season with averages of 1.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 12.8 minutes.
Over his five-year NBA career, Johnson has appeared in 147 games (27 starts) with averages of 4.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 14.6 minutes with Chicago, San Antonio, New Jersey, New Orleans, Toronto and Phoenix. Johnson went undrafted out of Tulane University in the 2003 NBA Draft, but was signed as a free agent by the Bulls before the start of the 2003-04 season.
The Bobcats will open the 2008-09 season on Thursday, Oct. 30 at Cleveland, with their home opener slated for Saturday, Nov. 1 against Miami.