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Charlotte Bobcats head coach Steve Clifford was not pleased with his team's effort coming out of halftime Monday night and predictably so. The Bobcats were outscored 34-16 in the third Monday night which erased an eight point lead and had Clifford questioning their effort.
"We came in the third quarter with absolutely no energy, and that was obviously the difference in the game,"
Clifford also called into question his team's defense against Atlanta point guard Jeff Teague who finished with 14 points and a game-high 12 assists.
"We couldn't keep him out of the paint. We couldn't keep him in control, and most of their shots came directly from him."
"It's disappointing. We need to do a lot better than that."
To be fair, it wasn't just the defense that hurt Charlotte. They made just 6-of-18 shots in the third and turned the ball over six times. Those turnovers got Atlanta into transition and led directly to 12 points. The shot chart from the period shows several chances from in close that were not cashed in.
The team is still somewhat a work in progress. Al Jefferson made his return from an ankle injury and looked better in the second half but getting him and his teammates on the same page is still a work in progress.