The Charlotte Bobcats defeated the Golden State Warriors tonight, 101-90. Gerald Wallace played limited minutes because Larry Brown doesn't know how to handle foul trouble and benched him for much of the first half, but Crash still led the way with yet another double-double before being ejected near the end of the game. More on that later.
Among the others, Boris Diaw had as complete a game as you'll see from a big man, nearly recording a triple-double, and D.J. Augustin was the team's high scorer.
Apparently, everyone was at the game, so no game thread comments in this recap. Lowlights and highlights after the jump.
BAD
-- Stephen Jackson had one of his sketchy nights, scoring only 12 points on 16 shots, including going an abysmal 0-7 from three. Now, I'm not so hawkish about efficiency as to believe that Jackson is hurting the team by being an unrepentant gunner. Though probably irrational, since Jax ain't the greatest three point shooter around, opponents respect his ability to shoot from distance, which opens up the floor for everyone else. If all he's doing is maintaining that respect for his three by shooting again and again, then have at, Cap'n Jack. Don't get me wrong: he does a lot of other things well enough to justify inclusion in the lineup, but there is probably a point where he is taking too many shots. I don't know where that point is.
-- The Bobcats turned it over 19 times. That's the sort of thing that keeps a weak opponent legitimately in the game until the fourth quarter.
-- Time after time, Larry Brown sees a guy pick up two fouls in the first quarter, and then benches him until the second half. He did it tonight with Gerald Wallace. This shouldn't even be an issue, but... Kelly Dwyer laid it out long ago.
-- Wallace punched Anthony Tolliver. Okay, maybe he didn't "punch" him per se, but he definitely threw his forearm at Tolliver's chest or head, and he did it with malice. I expect a suspension.
-- This one's about the Warriors. Don Nelson played Corey Maggette only 24 minutes all game and benched him with 4 minutes to go in the fourth. Why? Who knows. He was only the Ws' best player on the floor. Also, kudos to Nelson for burying Ronny Turiaf behind Chris Hunter (who?) and Devean George. Helluva job, Nellie.
GOOD
-- The most incredible stat of the night? The Cats outrebounded the Warriors 60-36. That's right, the Bobcats got 60 rebounds.
-- Gerald Wallace scored 18 points on 12 attempts, pulled down 10 rebounds, and had 5 blocks, all in only 31 minutes.
-- Boris Diaw was on a mission, scoring 14 points on 6-10 shooting, fighting for 12 rebounds, and dishing 9 assists. It was the kind of game that makes coaches swoon.
-- Raymond Felton did not have a good offensive game. D.J. Augustin did, scoring 19 points on 10 attempts. But both of them did a solid job defending Stephen Curry, giving up 25 points, but on an unsightly 8-23 shooting game.
-- Gerald Henderson got actual burn again, possibly the most welcome development of the evening.