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Bobcats tame Lakers yet again

Source: Agencies | April 2, 2009, Thursday | Print Edition

GERALD Wallace neared his home arena and was met by a sea of fans wearing Los Angeles Lakers shirts, jackets and hats.

"That's kind of embarrassing," the Charlotte Bobcats forward said. "I saw nothing but purple and white. I felt like I was driving in LA."

Those folks should have known the Lakers had no chance. Strange as it sounds, the Bobcats own the mighty Lakers.

Continuing perhaps the most unlikely dominance of one team over another in the National Basketball Association, the Bobcats got 21 points and 13 rebounds from Wallace and used stifling defense to beat the Lakers 94-84 on Tuesday and move within one game of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Raymond Felton added 16 points, D.J. Augustin scored 14 and Boris Diaw had 12 assists as the Bobcats frustrated Kobe Bryant and completed a season sweep of the Western Conference champions, who have lost six of seven to Charlotte over the past four seasons.

In other NBA games, it was: Pacers 107, Bulls 105; 76ers 98, Hawks 85; Cavaliers 79, Pistons 73; Mavericks 108, Timberwolves 88; Thunder 96, Spurs 95; Nuggets 111, Knicks 104; Trail Blazers 125, Jazz 104; and Hornets 111, Kings 110.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, playing in front of an overflowing crowd of 19,568 - the largest to see a Bobcats game in the team's four-year-old arena - those fans in Bryant jerseys were either drowned out or converted by the surprising fifth-year Bobcats, who set a team record with their 34th win.

"I wish we could get that kind of support with orange and white," Wallace said. "At the same time, it was kind of good, because it gives us a chance to win our fans back. They want us to give them a reason to come out and support us."

Failing to reach 100 points in consecutive games for the first time since November, the weary Lakers dropped their second straight with one game left in Milwaukee on their seven-game, 13-day road trip.

Bryant scored 25 points, but hit just 11 of 28 shots. Lamar Odom added 20 points as the Lakers fell three games behind Cleveland for the NBA's best record and home-court for a possible finals matchup.

"They always play us well," Bryant said of the Bobcats. "They have good guards, athletic forwards and big guys up front. You have to give them credit. They always play hard."

Bryant, shadowed most of the game by Raja Bell, is just 18-for-47 from the field in the past two games.

After losses by Chicago and Detroit on Tuesday, the Bobcats are a game behind the eighth-place Bulls and two back of the seventh-place Pistons. But the Bobcats close with six of their final eight on the road, starting in Boston tomorrow.

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