Monday, March 18, 2013

Bobcats Claw Past Wizards

After winning three straight games on their home court, the Wizards were back on the road, traveling to North Carolina, to take on the 14-52 Charlotte Bobcats.The Cats had lost 2 straight games coming into Monday, and sitting last place in the Eastern Conference, had already been mathematically eliminated from post-season contention.

The Wizards had defeated the Bobcats  at the Verizon Center on March 9th by a score of 104-87. Charlotte had been victorious in two meetings between the clubs prior to that night, but the Wizards played both those games without John Wall, who was still sidelined with a knee injury.

Charlotte led 63-59 at the half, and held on for 119-114 victory, their 3rd of the year over Washington. Kemba Walker banked in a jumper with 1:37 left to play to put Charlotte up 113-111. Walker then intercepted a bad pass by Trevor Ariza, and converted a running layup on the other end  to increase Charlotte's lead to 115-111. Gerald Henderson sealed the deal for the Bobcats, nailing a three-pointer with 55 seconds left to give Charlotte a 118-111 advantage.

Bobcats guard Gerald Henderson drives on Wizards forward Trevor Ariza (Photo by Chuck Burton/Associated Press)
Henderson led Charlotte with 27 points and 8 assists. Ben Gordon added 19 off the bench, and Kemba Walker tallied 18 points and 7 assists.

Washington was led by John Wall with 25 points and 5 assists. Nene turned in a well-rounded game, providing the Wizards with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Emeka Okafor and Garrett Temple both had solid nights, contributing 17 points a piece.

The Wizards will now head West to take on the Suns on Wednesday night in Phoenix.



No comments:

Post a Comment