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 That is something unusual for the 10-year-old franchise, and it
was clearly on the team's collective mind during a 114-89 rout of
the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
The Bobcats were far and away the hungrier team, as they raised
their record to 23-29 and held onto eighth place in the Eastern
Conference standings. They also snapped the Mavericks' five-game
winning streak.
"It's a lot of fun, especially where we were last year at this point
in time," said center Al Jefferson, who led the Bobcats with 30
points and grabbed eight rebounds. "Last year we would have taken
off for the All-Star break last week. Now, we're fighting for
something. These guys, you can see it in their eyes. Now, we're
playing for something and trying to reach our goals."
The Bobcats led by as many as 27. They went on a 10-0 run to open
the second quarter and then opened the third quarter with a 13-1
spurt.
Charlotte shot 54.9 percent from the field, made 12 of 24 3-point
attempts and registered a franchise-record 42 assists on 45 field
goals.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle was quick to say that the Bobcats played
with more passion than his team did.
"We were poor in all areas and they were great," Carlisle said. "I
give them a lot of credit. Their disposition was great. They were
attacking and they had us on our heels all night, really on both
ends. When we're not right and not together and not really on, those
young athletic teams like that, they're hard for us to deal with."
For Jefferson, it was another stellar night, the fourth time in the
past six games that he scored 30 or more. He shot 14-for-23 from the
field. Over the past six games, he averaged 28.5 points.
The Bobcats got 22 points, including five 3-pointers, from reserve
forward Anthony Tolliver, 15 points from guard Gerald Henderson, 10
points from center Bismack Biyombo, and nine points and 13 assists
from forward Josh McRoberts.
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"We just made the right plays tonight," Jefferson said. "Their
defense had to pick their poison. Either they were going to play me
one-on-one on the block or they were coming off the cutters and Josh
was hitting 3s, and if they stayed with Josh, then swing the ball
and Kemba (Walker) was hitting 3s, swing the ball and (Tolliver) was
hitting 3s. So we were just making the right plays."
Bobcats coach Steve Clifford pointed to the 3-point shooting as one
of the keys.
"Whenever we go 12 of 24 on 3-point shots, we have a good chance of
winning," Clifford said.
The Mavericks had a scare when All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki
suffered a sprained left ankle and sat out the final 9:22 of the
second quarter. Nowitzki returned to start the third quarter and
finished with 16 points.
Dallas (31-22) also got 16 points from guard Monta Ellis, but no
other Maverick scored in double figures, including forward Vince
Carter, who was 4-for-15 from the field for eight points.
"(The Bobcats) played a dominant game, and we were not good in any
area," Carlisle said. "We didn't put up enough resistance
defensively. Our rebounding wasn't there. The shot-making was off.
You give up 42 assists, that's not getting it done defensively. We
deserved to get thrashed, and we did."
NOTES: The victory was only the second ever for the Bobcats over the
Mavericks. Dallas leads the all-time series 17-2. ... The Mavericks
won the only previous game between the teams this season, 89-82 in
Dallas on Dec. 3. ... Mavericks F Dirk Nowitzki will be making his
12th NBA All-Star appearance this weekend. Only five players in NBA
history appeared in more All-Star games. ... The Bobcats' 23
victories are already better than the 21 wins they had all of last
season. ... The Mavericks continue to be without G Gal Mekel (right
knee surgery). ... The Bobcats have not had C Brendan Haywood
(stress fracture left foot) this season, and have lost F Jeffery
Taylor (ruptured right Achilles) for the rest of the season. ...
This was the first game of a back-to-back for both teams. The
Bobcats play the Nets in Brooklyn on Wednesday night, while the
Mavericks close out their three-game road trip against the Pacers in
Indiana.
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