For a team that is the laughing stock of the NBA, the Bobcats have added another impressive win to their resume on Tuesday night. The win was the Bobcats' fifth in their last six games against the Lakers, who got 38 points from Kobe Bryant before the Los Angeles star fouled out for the first time this season in the final minute of the first overtime. The Bobcats were lead by Boris Diaw who had 23 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. The Bobcats scrappiness is very impressive, and I hate playing them.
From Coobs
Normally I don't stay up late enough during the week to see these West Coast games in their entirety (because, as we all know, the Lakers seem to play every other game in the Staples Center), and I figured before tuning in that this game would be over within the first 12 minutes. Now I know that Charlotte always plays the Celtics tough, and that their record probably doesn't efficiently dictate their overall caliber as a team in the wide-open Eastern Conference playoff race, but I did not see this one coming. This was an exciting game from start to finish. The Bobcats played a very inspired game in which they shot the ball extremely well in the first half, and did just enough to hang with the Lakers in the second. They absolutely DOMINATED in the paint, outscoring LA by a wide margin. The Cats actually had a big lead late in the 4th quarter before missing EIGHT (count 'em) straight free throws to allow the Lakers to overtake them, relying on a big time 3-pointer by Boris Diaw with 30 ticks left to tie it up. Kobe was his usual unguardable self, scoring 36 in the defeat while entering into "can't-miss" mode late in regulation that, coupled with the Cats' failures from the charity stripe, kept the game relevant. But about midway through the first overtime, he picked up his 6th foul with some silly contact out on the perimeter, and after that, LA just didn't have enough offense. Bynum played really well while picking up the slack after Kobe fouled out, but he missed a crucial turnaround hook shot late in the second OT, and that, in effect, ended their chances. In my opinion LA was exposed a bit, losing to a team that was clearly inferior to them in height, but whose superior physicality wore them down as the game progressed (hello June of last year). I'm dead tired after watching this marathon game, but it makes it all worth it to see the Lake Show lose, and I'll be grinning like an idiot for at least a couple more days.
Fantasy note: Gerald Wallace got hurt in the first OT after he was flagrantly fouled by Bynum. I have no update whatsoever on his injury, but it looked like his rib area. It looked mad painful too.
106 Spurs, 100 Jazz
In a game that very much could be a play-off match-up this year, the Spurs needed a big effort from Manu Ginobelli to win this game. Manu's 10 4th quarter points were the reason that the Spurs were able to squeak this one out. Tony Parker added 24 points and six assists for the Spurs, who have won five of six. Matt Bonner scored 20, going 6-for-7 on 3-pointers as the Spurs went 11-for-20 from beyond the arc. Utah played a tough game but without Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilinko it is a pretty tough task.
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