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Bobcats beat Rockets in first-ever road win
The expansion Charlotte Bobcats won on the road for the first time, getting 21 points and 11 rebounds from rookie Emeka Okafor in a 90-87 victory Wednesday night over the Houston Rockets.
Okafor, a Houston native, had quite a homecoming at the expense of his favorite childhood team.
He recorded his 14th consecutive double-double, tying Shaquille O'Neal for the second-longest streak by a rookie in NBA history. But it was his clutch defensive play that sealed the landmark victory.
With 13.6 seconds left and Charlotte holding a 3-point lead, Okafor stepped into the lane on Tracy McGrady's drive to the basket. He forced McGrady into an awkward pass that went off Yao Ming's hands.
Charlotte point guard Brevin Knight then threw the inbounds pass the length of the court to a wide-open Primoz Brezec, who completed the play with a two-handed slam. Disgusted by the surprising turn of events, the crowd of 13,655 booed the Rockets off the floor.
A game after scoring a season-high 40 points in a win over Toronto, Yao had an ignominious triple double — 20 points, 14 rebounds and 10 turnovers.
McGrady had 25 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five steals. Bob Sura added 17 points and Jim Jackson 15 for the Rockets, who shot just 39 percent against the league's worst defensive team.
The Bobcats weren't even shaken by the loss of starting forward Gerald Wallace, who left the game in the third quarter with a sprained right wrist.
Wallace was hurt during a collision late in the quarter when he tried to stop a driving layup by Rockets guard Tyronn Lue. Wallace went for a block of Lue's shot and the guard crashed into him, sending both players tumbling to the floor.
Wallace writhed around on the ground in pain before being helped off the floor. He finished with two points in 24 minutes. |
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