Bobcats win third straight
Published 12:00 am Saturday, January 13, 2007
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE — Adam Morrison scored 17 points, and Charlotte overcame a pregame blunder that left it a man short and two more costly technical fouls to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 89-83 on Saturday.
Derek Anderson added 15 points and Raymond Felton had 14 points and nine assists for the Bobcats, who won their season-high third straight game despite playing without backup point guard Jeff McInnis.
A Bobcats employee turned in an official roster before the game that did not include McInnis as an active player. McInnis was acquired in a trade from New Jersey on Jan. 4 and Saturday was Charlotte’s first home game since the deal.
McInnis entered the game with 3:15 left in the first quarter. The 76ers called attention to the error eight seconds later during a break in play after a foul was called.
Referee Dick Bavetta called an official timeout and players from both teams went to the bench for several minutes before it was announced the Bobcats were called for a technical foul and McInnis was ejected.
Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff looked at the incorrect roster before slamming it to the table and walking back to the bench.
In a sheet handed out to the media before the game, injured players Brevin Knight, Gerald Wallace and Melvin Ely were listed as the three inactive players for the game.
McInnis’ ejection left Raymond Felton as the Bobcats’ only true point guard. Knight has been sidelined for 12 games with a torn abdominal muscle.
Willie Green scored 19 points and Kyle Korver added 15 for the 76ers, who faltered down the stretch to lose for the fifth time in six games.
Spurs 93, Wizards 80
SAN ANTONIO — Manu Ginobili scored 19 points to lead San Antonio over the Washington Wizards, who lost coach Eddie Jordan to an ejection.
Tim Duncan had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Tony Parker had 13 points and 10 boards. Fabricio Oberto had five points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Spurs’ impressive defensive effort.
Timberwolves 109, Nets 98
MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Garnett scored 32 points and surpassed 10,000 rebounds for his career as Minnesota won a game by more than six points for the first time this season.
Garnett pulled down 14 rebounds to become the 32nd player in league history to reach the milestone. Mark Blount added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Timberwolves, who used a 12-1 run midway through the fourth quarter to win for the ninth time in 12 games.
Bulls 111, Grizzlies 66
CHICAGO — Ben Gordon scored 24 points and Luol Deng added 18 as Chicago had its easiest victory of the season despite missing starters Andres Nocioni and Ben Wallace.
Nocioni was suspended for one game by the NBA for elbowing New Jersey’s center Mikki Moore on Thursday and Wallace missed the game with a sore back.
Pistons 81, Celtics 73
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Richard Hamilton scored 22 points and Flip Murray added 21 as Detroit ended an embarrassing two-game losing streak.
The Pistons were coming off consecutive losses to Charlotte and Atlanta — a combined 22-46 this season — but bounced back to hand Boston its fourth loss in a row.
Tayshaun Prince added 16 points for the Pistons, while Rasheed Wallace had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Gerald Green led the Celtics with a career-high 24 points, but committed a costly flagrant foul in the fourth quarter. Ryan Gomes scored 17, while Al Jefferson added 12 points and a career-high 22 rebounds.