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Bobcats' new additions make mark in victory over Cavs 93 - 110
February 19, 2010
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Bobcats both made moves at the NBA trade deadline to shore up their chances in the postseason. Friday the Bobcats made a better showing with their changes. The Bobcats picked up a 110-93 victory over Cleveland at Time Warner Cable Arena which helped to erase the sting of losing to the New Jersey Nets just three nights earlier. Charlotte was led by another mid-season acquisition, Stephen Jackson, who netted a game-best 29 points. "It was good for us to get back on track," Jackson said. "It was important for us to get a win. Our new guys brought a lot of energy for us. It's good to get that taste out of our mouth and to beat a good team like Cleveland tonight." Theo Ratliff and Tyrus Thomas both arrived in town early Friday but didn't arrive at the arena until after the team's morning shootaround. "We had a little cram session before the game," Thomas said, "but I kind forgot all of it I think. I made a D on the test. The other guys made it easy for me and we got the win." The lack of practice didn't show for either player. Thomas finished the game with nine points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots while Ratliff blocked a shot his first defensive possession on the court.
"They were phenomenal," Larry Brown said. "It was a great win. I thought everybody had a contribution out there." The Cavs were held to just 39 percent shooting (32-for-82) while the Bobcats had the hot hand all night, making 41 of their 75 shots. Cleveland acquired Antawn Jamison on Wednesday but the all-star forward scored just two points on 0-for-12 shooting, including having five of his shots blocked. "I rushed a couple of shots and I had a copule of shots that got blocked," Jamison said. "I just couldn't really get into a rhythm. I felt as comfortable as I could. Offensively, it was just one of those nights." The Cavaliers dropped back-to-back games for just the second time this season. Cleveland's 13-game win streak was snapped Thursday night in a 118-116 overtime loss to Denver. Charlotte took the season series from the Cavaliers 3-1 and picked up an important win in advance of a four-game trip away from home.
"They make us better all around," Jackson added. "It's just amazing what one move can do for us. I'm definitely happy they're here." Charlotte took control of the game late in the third quarter. Thomas ignited a 12-2 run to close the third with a dunk at the 2:17 mark. "It was easy out there," Thomas said. "They are a good group of guys out there. Coach Brown made it a lot easier for me out there. He told me 'Just go play and have a lot of fun. Don't worry about anything but playing hard.'" The run closed with a pair of back-to-back 3s including one by DJ Augustin as the clock expired which gave the Bobcats a 14-point lead. Agustin scored 12 points off the bench and took advantage of the available minutes with the departure of Flip Murray, who was part of the package sent to the Bulls in exchange for Thomas.
"I just went out and played hard," Augustin said. "It was a big game for us and we needed this win." Gerald Wallace added to the lead with another 3 to open the final period and the Bobcats never let Cleveland get closer than 11 the rest of the way. The lead got to as many as 19 late before Jamison sank a pair of free throws with 40.8 seconds left for his only points of the game. "I just wanted to try and go out there and do the things that I know I can do," Ratliff said. "I wanted to defend, rebound, set picks and help guys get open. All the guys did a great job out there. We were aggressive the whole crew. It's going to be fun playing with these guys."