I’m not even going to discuss the first 3 quarters of tonight’s game. I would, because we had one of those 2-point leads at the end of the 1st quarter, but by the end of the 3rd, I wanted to turn the game off…but I didn’t
A 26-point first quarter, followed by an 18-point second quarter had me all set to just face our 12th straight loss to the Hawks. The 3rd quarter didn’t lighten the mood any as the Bobcats mustered a 21 point 3rd quarter. I should mention that at the end of 3, the Bobcats were down 15 points. Kemba was 1 – 9 from the floor with 5 points and 7 assists. Hendo was 1 – 9 from the floor with 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Neither saw the court in the 4th quarter. Al posted his 41st double-double on the season with 27 points and 15 rebounds. So just what happened to clinch a victory?
If you read me these stat lines, I would pretty much write the game off. Well, don’t tell the Bobcats bench that. If you did, you’d owe them an apology. The bench scored 48 points on the night, giving the Bobcats the lift they needed to defeat the Hawks 95 – 93. Gary Neal had 17, Luke Ridnour had 10, and Zeller had 8. The most important of the bench guys was Chris Douglas-Roberts. He only had 5 points on the night, but 2 of them was the biggest 2 of the night. With 2.6 seconds left, the Bobcats had to inbound the ball in order to get a shot off for a game winner. CDR was basically the last option in the play set for inbounding, and McRoberts made the perfect pass. CDR caught, took 2 dribbles, and shot the perfect floater that tickled the nylon as the buzzer sounded.
What a beautiful end, and momentum builder to come home with as the final regular season game is Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls. A win against the Bulls and a Wizards loss to the Celtics would put us at the 6th seed, and not facing the Heat in the playoffs.
I believe that the Bobcats could beat the Heat if the “Star-Calls” aren’t in place…I just don’t believe that there can’t be star calls not made in any Miami series.
Whether it is the Heat, the Bulls, or the Raptors, I believe that these Bobcats can do anything. I seriously mean anything, and I believe that we will see the second round of the playoffs…maybe more. We just have to get the starters out of their funk, and back to their regular form. I am referring to you Kemba, Hendo, and MKG.
In the meantime
LET’S GO CATS!
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