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 Center Al Jefferson scored 34 points, including 20 in the first
half, and the Bobcats routed the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana
Pacers 109-87.
The win came after the Bobcats lost at San Antonio, at Oklahoma City
and at Miami in the previous five days, and it was a clear morale
booster. The Pacers began the night with the best record in the NBA.
"The trip, we lost three games in a row, but we played three great
teams and we didn't play bad," Jefferson said. "So in my opinion, we
left that trip with some confidence. We came home and the schedule
didn't get any easier for us, the best team in the league, but we
responded well. We came out with energy, we knew it was going to be
a physical game, and we knew we had to step up.
"I'm not accepting that we are a team now that guys can look at the
schedule and say 'We've got the Bobcats, we can take the night off.'
I think we've proved that we can come out and compete. We proved
that tonight."
The Bobcats raced to a 28-8 lead after one quarter, limiting the
Pacers to 4-of-20 shooting from the field in the period, and they
never trailed the rest of the way.
"It would be a good win anyway, but to go on that trip and play a
lot of good basketball and get nothing for it, and then to play like
this ..." Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "Yesterday we took off,
and you could tell from the time we walked into shoot-around this
morning that we were going to play well. Not that we were going to
win, but that we were going to play well. And that's the strength of
our team, our character."
The win was the Bobcats' fifth straight at home and moved them to
28-33, still in seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. The
Pacers (46-15) lost for the second time in two nights, after a 98-96
defeat against the Golden State Warriors in Indianapolis on Tuesday.
Indiana fell into a tie with the idle Oklahoma City Thunder for the
NBA's best record.
Pacers coach Frank Vogel gave all the credit to Jefferson, who
produced at least 30 points for the ninth time in 15 games.
Jefferson outscored the entire Indiana team 12-8 in the first
quarter, and he had 20 at halftime, 29 after three quarters. He
finished 16-for-25 from the field, and he even sank a 3-pointer — a
bank shot at the shot-clock buzzer.
"Everybody needs to question the Eastern Conference coaches' voting
as to why Al Jefferson wasn't on the All-Star team," Vogel said.
"He's one of the best in the game, and he showed that tonight. Give
him credit."
The Bobcats got 19 points and nine assists from guard Kemba Walker.
Forward Josh McRoberts and guard Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 12
each, forward Cody Zeller added 11, and guard Gary Neal scored 10.
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Guard Evan Turner came off the bench to lead the Pacers with 22
points, and guard George Hill scored 17. Forward Paul George, who
entered the game averaging 22.7 points, was held to two points and
missed all nine of his field-goal attempts.
The Pacers wound up shooting just 40.8 percent from the field and
committing 18 turnovers.
"We struggled to score early," Vogel said. "You've got to give them
credit, they're a great defensive team. We were making extra passes
and couldn't buy a bucket. Charlotte's a good basketball team. They
were rested, and we knew we were going to have to come out and play
great, and we didn't play great."
Vogel expected the Pacers to be hungry after Tuesday night's loss to
the Warriors, but his team was flat from the start.
"It's only the second time it's happened all year," Vogel said.
"Hopefully it doesn't happen again."
Charlotte scot 51.2 percent from the floor and gave the ball away
just seven times.
NOTES: This was the third and final meeting of the regular season
between the teams, although they could wind up facing each other in
the first round of the playoffs. The Pacers won both previous games,
99-74 in Charlotte on Nov. 27 and 99-94 in Indianapolis on Dec. 13.
The Pacers won 14 of the previous 15 games between the teams before
Wednesday. ... Bobcats C Justin Hamilton, signed to a 10-day
contract on Tuesday, was in uniform for the first time Wednesday
night but did not play. The Bobcats were down one big man after
shipping F Jeff Adrien to the Milwaukee Bucks in the trade that
brought G Luke Ridnour and G Gary Neal to Charlotte. ... Bobcats G
Gerald Henderson missed his second straight game with a strained
right calf, and coach Steve Clifford said he didn't expect Henderson
to return before next week. That means Henderson would miss Friday's
game against Cleveland and Saturday's game at Memphis. ... The
Bobcats have not had C Brendan Haywood (stress fracture left foot)
this season, and F Jeffery Taylor (ruptured right Achilles) will
miss the rest of the season. Clifford said that Haywood would see
the doctor again next week, but there is still no timeframe for
Haywood's return. ... The Pacers started a three-game road trip that
will continue on with games at Houston on Friday and at Dallas on
Sunday. They play 14 of their last 22 games on the road.
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