Charlotte
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Playing without their star rookie Emeka Okafor and big center Primoz Brezec, the Bobcats barely lost to the Knicks 102-99as a lucky yet wide-open Tim Thomas three-pointer bounced around, up, and finally in. The Knicks entered the fourth with a nine point lead but the Bobcats hustled their way back in it only to lose on such a tragic end.
Without their star rookie, the Bobcats looked to their other rookie. Second-round draft pick Bernard Robinson left Knick defender Jamal Crawford in the dust with just 12 seconds left and the scored tied, but missed the layup. Rookie mistake! What are you gonna do.
Robinson recorded two career highs, in minutes (25) and points (18) coming in off the bench. In fact, six Bobcats scored in double-digits, with four off the bench!
NEXT GAME
The Bobcats (10-38, fourth in the Southeast) welcome the Portland Trail Blazers (20-29, fourth in the Northwest) TONIGHT. The game starts at 7:00pm Eastern though it looks as if it will not be broadcast by any station on earth. Perhaps NBA League Pass will have it!
TEAM NOTES
Bobcats forward Emeka Okafor roared onto the NBA scene with back-to-back got milk? NBA Rookie of the Month awards for November and December. Okafor will be chatting live on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., so send in your questions now and check back on Tuesday to chat live.
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INJURY UPDATE
Tamar Slay (foot) andJahidi White(shoulder) are on the injured list but they are far from being the only injuries.Emeka Okafor(ankle), Primoz Brezec(knee), Kareem Rush(back spasms), andBrevin Knight(ankle)are all in pain too.
Mike Anthony ofThe Hartford Courantwrites: His hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans as he left the court, Emeka Okafor puffed out his cheeks in an exaggerated exhalation as he followed his teammates down the tunnel at Madison Square Garden at the end of the first half... These are slow times for Okafor, out again with a sprained left ankle. "It's frustrating," he said. "But you deal with these things because they are going to happen."
David Scott ofThe Charlotte Observerwrites: It's not often that a player reacts to making a game-winning shot by rolling his eyes and offering a wry smile.That's what New York's Tim Thomas did Sunday after his 3-point shot from the corner took two crazy bounces, then finally went in as the buzzer sounded, giving the Knicks a 102-99 NBA victory against the Charlotte Bobcats (10-38) in Madison Square Garden. "Every time I shoot the ball I think it's going in," said Thomas, who turned to the crowd with his can-you-believe-it? look after the shot dropped through. "I haven't had any luck recently. So if it is luck, I hope it sticks around for a long time."
David Scott ofThe Charlotte Observerobserves: When Bobcats point guard Brevin Knight left the game in the third quarter with a sprained ankle, it wasn't the first problem he'd had. Knight had his left wrist X-rayed in the first half after he fell on it. The X-ray was negative... Bickerstaff to referee Tom Washington after Knight left the game with his injured wrist: "I've only got three or four guys left!"