Associated Press
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The agony is over for Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Bobcats.
Kemba Walker scored a career-high 30 points in Mike Dunlap’s coaching debut and the Bobcats snapped a 23-game losing streak with a 90-89 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.
The Bobcats lost their final 23 games last season to finish 7-59, the worst winning percentage (.106) in NBA history prompting Jordan, the team’s owner, to proclaim the franchise had “hit rock bottom.”
Now they’re looking to start a different kind of streak.
“It was something that was in the back of all of our heads,” Walker said. “We didn’t want that streak to keep on with us, so to get it over with now was extremely important. But now that it’s over we don’t ever want to get to that point again.”
The Bobcats, playing with a newfound aggressiveness on defense under Dunlap — they forced 19 turnovers — started the year strong against a Pacers team that won 19 of 33 road games last season.
“They look like a different team out there,” said guard D.J. Augustin, who joined the Pacers this offseason as a free agent after four seasons with the Bobcats.
“They came at us with a full court trap and it kind of threw us off our game. They were very intense.”
Dunlap has been preaching defense throughout the preseason and hammering his players with 3- to 4-hour practice sessions to build their conditioning.
It seemed to pay off.
“Guys are really, really buying in and that’s all it takes,” Walker said. “It’s about sacrifice. It’s about buying into what your leader is preaching. It showed tonight. We made some huge stops at the end.”
It was a strange finish as the teams combined to score just two points in the game’s final 2:37. Indiana had several chances but turnovers and missed shots proved to be their undoing.
Augustin tried to bury his old team with an 18-foot jumper from the wing as time expired but it bounced away.
“I had a good look at it, but it just didn’t go down,” Augustin said.
Said Dunlap: “The most important thing was to kill the elephant and that elephant was that losing streak. We had to get that off of everybody’s back. It’s just one of those marks you want to clean off the board.”
Walker was the catalyst all game for the Bobcats, hitting 9 of his first 13 shots — most of those coming on drives to the lane where the 6-foot-1 point guard somehow managed to get his shots above much taller defenders and get them with a soft touch high off the glass.
When asked how he made some of those shots, Walker laughed and said, “I don’t know.
“I think I was having a really good night. Coach Dunlap was helping with those kinds of crazy shots all offseason. It’s just all of the hard work that has been paying off.”
Walker also drew contact along the way, making 9 of 10 free throws, an area where the Pacers struggled all game. Indiana shot just 59 percent from the free throw line.
Gerald Henderson added 18 points for the Bobcats and Ramon Sessions chipped in 11 points, including a big 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter.
Tyler Hansbrough and Lance Stephenson led the Pacers with 15 points each.
The Bobcats were the worst shooting team in the league last season, but they came out strong building a 12-3 lead. That was short-lived as they quickly cooled off going more than 6 minutes without a point. The Pacers grabbed the lead behind 12 hard-fought points by Hansbrough and took a 43-39 halftime lead.
Walker scored eight quick points to start the second half, giving the Bobcats a lead they would never relinquish.
Indiana played without forward Danny Granger, the team’s leading scorer the past five seasons, who continues to be sidelined indefinitely with soreness in his left knee. Before the game, coach Frank Vogel said they are still awaiting the medical results of a second opinion on his knee.
The Pacers shot just 36.5 percent from the field.
“It was a tough shooting night but you have to give the Bobcats credit,” Vogel said. “Kemba Walker was sensational. We turned the ball over too much and we couldn’t knock down our free throws.”
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, struggled offensively for the Bobcats going 1 for 7 from the field and he didn’t play much down the stretch.
However, he played hard with seven rebounds and was impressive at times on defense.
In the second quarter Kidd-Gilchrist skied to block a shot by 7-foot Roy Hibbert in the lane, igniting a fastbreak layup and three-point play on the other end by Walker.
“I was nervous coming into this game,” Kidd-Gilchrist said. “I’m a rookie. So, I was just nervous. But I thought I did pretty well.”
ROCKETS 109, HAWKS 102
ATLANTA— James Harden continued to shine at the start of his Houston career, scoring a career-high 45 points to lead the Rockets over Atlanta.
Harden, traded to the Rockets from Oklahoma City on Saturday, topped 30 points for the second time in his first week with his new team.
Jeremy Lin had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Marcus Morris had 17 points for Houston.
Rockets center Omer Asik had a career-high 19 rebounds but did not score, missing seven shots from the field.
Lou Williams led the Hawks with 22 points in his Atlanta debut. Josh Smith had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
With the game tied 92-all, Harden had consecutive baskets, including a three-point play, to give Houston the lead for good. Harden was 14 of 19 from the field and 15 of 17 from the free throw line.
THUNDER 106, TRAIL BLAZERS 92
OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook scored 32 points, Kevin Durant had 23 points and 17 rebounds, and Oklahoma City beat Portland to win its fourth straight home opener.
Kevin Martin, taking over James Harden’s role as the top-scoring bench player, added 19 points as Oklahoma City pulled away in the fourth quarter. Martin hit a 3-pointer and a runner during an 11-2 spurt that extended the Thunder’s lead to 95-81 with 4:05 remaining.
LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 22 points and 15 rebounds and first-round pick Damian Lillard followed a sizzling debut with 21 points and seven assists.
The Trail Blazers were unable to follow up their surprising opening win against the Los Angeles Lakers, while Oklahoma City bounced back from a loss to San Antonio that at least temporarily shifted the focus off Harden’s departure.
BULLS 115, CAVALIERS 86
CLEVELAND— Richard Hamilton and Carlos Boozer each scored 19 points in Chicago’s rout of Cleveland.
Nate Robinson added 16 points and 12 assists for the Bulls, who led the entire game after Boozer hit a jumper 23 seconds in. Chicago made 14 of 19 from the field in the first quarter and led 36-16 with 10:34 remaining in the second.
The Bulls shot 63.8 percent from the field for the game, hitting 44 of 69 shots.
The Cavaliers, who defeated Washington in their opener, struggled on both ends of the floor. Kyrie Irving had 15 points but Cleveland shot 32 of 79 from the field (41 percent) and committed 17 turnovers.
The Bulls are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since the 2002-03 season despite playing without star point guard Derrick Rose, who isn’t expected to return until the second half of the season because of a knee injury.
BUCKS 99, CELTICS 88
BOSTON — Brandon Jennings had 21 points, 13 assists and six steals, and Milwaukee beat Boston to win its opening game for the first time in six years.
The Bucks never trailed after the first 6 minutes and led by at least 11 points throughout the second half as the Celtics, who allowed the second-fewest points in the NBA last season, struggled defensively for the second consecutive game. They lost 120-107 to the Miami Heat on Tuesday night, matching the most points they allowed in any game last season.
Boston, in its home opener, was led by Kevin Garnett with 15 points and Rajon Rondo with 14 points and 11 assists. The Celtics lost their first three games last season.
Tobias Harris scored 18 points for Milwaukee and Monta Ellis had 14.
HORNETS 88, JAZZ 86
NEW ORLEANS — Greivis Vasquez hit a driving layup with 1.3 seconds left, leading New Orleans over Utah even though the Hornets played without rookie center Anthony Davis in the second half.
Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, left with 4:51 to play in the first half after taking an inadvertent elbow to the head from fellow rookie and teammate Austin Rivers.
The Hornets said after the game that Davis had a mild concussion and would not accompany the team to Chicago for Saturday night’s game. He is day to day.
Davis had eight points — all on dunks — six rebounds and two blocked shots.
Vasquez, who had 13 points and 10 assists, drove past Gordon Hayward, who fell to the floor, and banked in a short shot over Al Jefferson. Utah had a chance to win after calling a timeout, but Mo Williams’ fallaway 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
Robin Lopez and Ryan Anderson both had 19 points for the Hornets.
MAGIC 102, NUGGETS 89
ORLANDO, Fla. — Glen Davis scored 29 points, J.J. Redick added 21 and Orlando sprinted out to an early lead before holding off Denver.
Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 23 points, and Ty Lawson had 12. But they struggled offensively, unable to dig out of a 20-point first-half hole.
It was the Magic’s first season opener in eight seasons without All-Star center Dwight Howard, who was traded this summer to the Lakers in a multiteam deal involving Denver. The win was also new Magic coach Jacque Vaughn’s first regular-season NBA victory.
Orlando forward Hedo Turkoglu left the game with a broken left hand.
The Nuggets dropped to 0-2 on their season-opening three-game road trip.
TIMBERWOLVES 92, KINGS 80
MINNEAPOLIS — J.J. Barea had 21 points and five assists in 28 minutes to help Minnesota overcome a weak shooting performance in a season-opening victory over Sacramento.
Brandon Roy pitched in 10 points, six assists and five rebounds and Andrei Kirilenko added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists as both players returned to NBA action for the first time since the end of the 2010-11 season.
Isaiah Thomas had 14 of his 20 points in the third quarter for the Kings, who trailed for most of the game but overtook the Wolves for a stretch after halftime. Marcus Thornton had 15 points off the bench, but DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans were quiet.
GRIZZLIES 104, WARRIORS 94
OAKLAND, Calif. — Marc Gasol and Mike Conley both scored 21 points, and Memphis spoiled Golden State’s home opener after Warriors forward Brandon Rush injured his left knee in a scary fall.
Rudy Gay added 18 points and eight rebounds and Zach Randolph had 15 points and 14 rebounds to help the Grizzlies rebound from a loss at the Los Angeles Clippers two nights earlier.
Randolph’s foul on Rush in the first quarter unintentionally injured the Warriors forward. Rush held back tears and had to be helped off the court. He was scheduled to have an MRI on Saturday.
The Warriors went down 14 points following the injury, then scored 15 straight to take a 39-38 lead before the Grizzlies ran away with the victory in the second half.
Stephen Curry had 26 points and seven assists, and reserve Carl Landry added 20 points for Golden State on a night all the good vibes from Wednesday’s win at Phoenix came crashing down. New center Andrew Bogut, easing back into game shape after left ankle surgery, had four points and three rebounds in 18 minutes.
SUNS 92, PISTONS 89
PHOENIX — Marcin Gortat had 16 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots, and Phoenix held off a late Detroit rally for its first victory of the season.
Michael Beasley scored 16 points for the Suns and Goran Dragic added 15 points and 10 assists. Shannon Brown scored 14, including 10 in the fourth quarter.
Tayshaun Prince’s 18 points led six Pistons in double figures. Jason Maxiell added 15 points, all but two in the first quarter, and Brandon Knight had 13 points and 10 assists.
The Suns didn’t trail after scoring the last 12 points of the first half, six by Beasley, to go up 54-46. Detroit got no closer than six points until the final minute but still had a chance to tie it on the last possession. Knight, however, threw up an air ball at the buzzer.