The Charlotte Bobcats return to the cozy confines of Time
Warner Cable Arena Saturday for the first of a brief two-game homestand
against a reeling New Orleans Hornets club trying to cope with the loss of
star point guard Chris Paul.
The Bobcats are coming off a six-game road trip culminating with a tough 99-97
loss to the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. Lamar Odom
scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds in that one, as the Lakers edged
Charlotte, making Los Angeles' Phil Jackson the winningest coach in club
history.
Stephen Jackson ended with 30 points and seven rebounds for the Bobcats, who
finished the trip with a respectable 3-3 mark. Nazr Mohammed tallied 23 points
and 17 boards. Flip Murray had 15 points off the bench in defeat.
"Everybody played well, but they've got such length, depth and size, so I
thought all of our big guys did a heck of a job," Bobcats coach Larry Brown
said.
Charlotte All-Star forward Gerald Wallace, who missed the Lakers game with s
strained left hamstring suffered late in Mondays 98-79 loss at Portland,
practiced Friday and is expected back in the lineup tonight.
"I'm good," Wallace told the Bobcats' Web site on Friday. "I woke up this
morning and felt a whole lot better than I did two days ago, so hopefully it
won't linger on."
The same can't be said of veteran center Tyson Chandler, who also got back on
the practice floor Friday but is expected to remain sidelined for the 22nd
straight game with a foot injury.
This will be the Bobcats' first home game since their franchise-record nine-
game home winning streak was snapped on Jan. 23 by Orlando.
The Hornets, meanwhile, continue to struggle without Paul. who is out for
four-to-six weeks after undergoing successful arthroscopic surgery on his left
knee Thursday to repair a meniscal tear.
Recently selected for his third All-Star Game, Paul initially twisted his knee
during last Wednesday's game against Golden State, then hurt it further on
Friday against Chicago while trying to save a ball from going out of bounds.
He has sat out the subsequent four games against Memphis, Phoenix, Oklahoma
City and Philadelphia and the Hornets have gone 1-3 in that stretch.
Most recently, Thaddeus Young scored a team-high 19 points off the bench, as
the 76ers picked up a season-high third consecutive win with a 101-94 decision
over New Orleans last night.
Peja Stojakovic had 23 points to pace the Hornets, who lost their third in a
row. Rookie Darren Collison, replacing Paul in the lineup, ended with 17
points and four assists in the setback.
"It was just another unfortunate loss," Hornets head coach Jeff Bower said. "I
think we played hard out again out there. It's just frustrating not getting
points for the effort you put in."
New Orleans hasn't lost four in a row all season.
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