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Charlotte Bobcats forward Boris Diaw (#32) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers forward J.J. Hickson (#21).

Despite the Charlotte Bobcats losing players to injury, they still manage to find ways to keep winning, an unlikely situation for a team that for the most part have been battling for the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference for awhile.

Enjoying a three-game winning streak which has kept them right behind the Indiana Pacers, the Hornets are basically with their backs agianst the wall as they make a final push towards a playoff berth. That streak was at stake as Charlotte hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers at Time Warner Arena, who are fresh off a huge win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.

This game was one that, predictably, was low-scoring and was close throughout. But Boris Diaw was the hero for the Bobcats as he converted the tiebreaking – and game-winning – free throw tih 14 seconds left, allowing Charlotte to edge Cleveland 98-97. The win was the Bobcats’ fourth straight, keeping them within a game of the Pacers.

Charlotte outscored Cleveland by two in the first while the Cavaliers made up ground and outscored the Bobcats 24-19 and took a 50-47 lead to their locker room at the break.

Baron Davis, a former Bobcat (formerly the Hornets), played like his old self with a fadeaway and a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to put the Cavaliers ahead 91-88 with 4:39 left to go.

Charlotte trailed by eight in the third and 97-95 with 2:02 left in the final period. Diaw’s half-hook tied the game, before missed shots by both squads set up what would be a wild finish.

Diaw got the ball in the post and drew a foul on Cleveland’s Ryan Hollins; Diaw made the first but missed the second free throw.

The Cavaliers grabbed the rebound, but advanced it just a bit before calling a timeout, forcing them to take the ball out from the side of the backcourt.

After Ramon Sessions struggled to get to the frontcourt, coach Byron Scott called another timeout with just 2.8 seconds left on the game clock.

Anthony Parker then got the ball on the left side, but the Bobcats’ Dominic McGuire got a fingertip on Parker’s off-balance shot attempt, which clanged off the rim and gave Charlotte the victory.

Diaw led the Bobcats with a game-high 26 points, along with 7 rebounds, 11 assists, a steal and a block while Kwame Brown added 16 with 8 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and 2 blocks. Gerald Henderson chipped in 14 with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block.

The Cavaliers were led by Sessions, who came off the bench to score 24 points, along with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal while J.J. Hickson added 20 with 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Parker chipped in 14 with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and a block.

Both teams return to action on Friday night, as Charlotte (32-42) makes the short trip to Orlando to take on the Magic while Cleveland (15-59) flies north to Washington, D.C. to face the Wizards.