Bobcats Rally Late, Edge Warriors 112-109

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under NBA Game Recap

Charlotte Bobcats guard Raymond Felton (left), Golden State swingman Corey Maggette (right)

Typically at Oracle Arena, the Golden State Warriors do very well against most opponents – at least they have since the first of the year. Enter the Charlotte Bobcats; at first glance, you think, “Same old, same old”. But then came the Jason Richardson trade which sent them Raja Bell and Boris Diaw. But it wasn’t Diaw or Bell who was the Bobcats’ savior in their game against the Warriors on Friday night. Oddly enough, it was Raymond Felton who led Charlotte to the come-from-behind 112-109 win over Golden State.

Both teams were hot in the first half as the Bobcats outscored the Warriors 25-24 and 36-31 to take a 61-55 first half lead going into halftime; Golden state would open the third quarter with a 16-5 run to take the lead. Andris Biedrins, while scoring 9 points during that run, later would dunk to give Golden State a 73-68 lead. However, Charlotte would recover and score 10 straight points to end the period and take a slim 89-86 lead going into the final period.

Golden State immediately went on a 10-2 spurt to regain the lead at 96-91; they would maintain their lead until 2.9 seconds remaining in the game when the Bobcats’ Boris Diaw drained a 3-pointer, giving Charlotte a 110-109 lead. After the Warriors’ Stephen Jackson threw away an inbounds pass, Felton was fouled and he proceeded to make a pair of free throws with 1.6 seconds left to seal the win.

Charlotte’s high scorer was Felton with 26 points (including 3 three-pointers), 3 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals and a block, but committed 6 turnovers while Diaw added 22 (including 3 treys) with 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks; Emeka Okafor scored 15 with 11 rebounds.

Golden State was led by Jackson with 33 points (including 4 three-pointers), 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals, but turned the ball over 5 times while Corey Maggette, from off the bench, added 20 with 3 rebounds and 2 assists; Biedrins scored 18 with 13 rebounds and 2 assists. Charlotte (24-35) plays again on Saturday when they travel south to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers while Golden State (20-38) remains home to host the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.

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