Bobcats get back on the right track with big win at home

The Charlotte Bobcats beat the Toronto Raptors 112-86, led by Gerald Wallace with 25 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Larry Brown was happy with the team performance after losing on the road to Minnesota Saturday night.

“We needed it, especially losing a tough game here (last week vs. Houston), then going up to Minnesota and not getting it done.”

They got it done tonight and proved why they need to be in playoff talks after a three game losing streak that dropped them to twelfth in the Eastern Conference.

The Bobcats led for almost the entire game and even got some action from Sean May in the final minutes. May played an effective three minutes going 2-3, scoring five points and grabbed one rebound. Maybe we’ll see more of this crowd favorite who was blasted with cheers each time the ball touched his hands.

The Bobcats also got 42 points from their bench including 15 points and six assists off the bench from D. J. Augustin. Toronto didn’t get much help from their bench who scored only 24, and the entire team seemed tired all night committing 23 lazy turnovers and missing easy lay-ups.  Raptors coach Jay Triano expressed his frustration.

“We didn’t have a lot of energy. It’s tough playing games back and forth, although normally we do a better job of that as far as having more energy. We can’t afford to turn the ball over as much as we did. We didn’t look after the ball and we didn’t shoot the ball well.”

Although Chris Bosh recorded his 18th double-double of the season, 18 points and 14 rebounds, he didn’t get much help from anyone else. Shawn Marion, who the Raptors acquired recently in a trade for Jermaine Oneal, scored 12 along with six rebounds. He had this to say after the game.

“We just couldn’t get enough stops tonight. We basically fell apart. Tonight just wasn’t our night.”

The Bobcats look to create another winning streak vs. the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night at home.