Associated Press
CHARLOTTE ó Larry Brown was in his first week of training camp in his record ninth NBA head coaching job when he invited his mentor, Dean Smith, to see his flawed Charlotte Bobcats practice.
“I remember watching coach Smith watch us and him saying, ‘Are you sure you like coaching?”‘ Brown said.
How far the Bobcats have come since then was on display Friday night, as Boris Diaw dominated his former team with 26 points and 11 rebounds in Charlotte’s 98-76 rout of the slumping Phoenix Suns.
“It was an unbelievable great game,” said Brown, clearly enjoying coaching now with the Bobcats having won five of six and 11 of 18. “I don’t think we can play better.”
Last month’s deal that brought Diaw and Raja Bell from Phoenix for Jason Richardson has invigorated the Bobcats, who also got 28 points from Gerald Wallace.
Richardson’s arrival hasn’t cured Phoenix.
The Suns committed 24 turnovers in their third straight loss, and Richardson was bottled up much of the night by Bell, finishing with eight points on 3-for-9 shooting in his first game back in Charlotte.
“We need to figure out ways to just go out there and compete,” said Richardson, who received polite applause when he was introduced. “We can’t expect to get wins just because we’re the Phoenix Suns.”
Shaquille O’Neal had 20 points for the Suns, who had been 8-0 against Charlotte and had never failed to score fewer than 110 points in those games.
But while the Bobcats don’t resemble the poor teams of the past, these Suns are suddenly a bumbling bunch that has dropped five of six and sinking fast in the Western Conference standings.
“I haven’t seen them not scoring the ball like that,” said Bell, who had nine points and a career-high eight assists.
Diaw, Bell and backup point guard Sean Singletary were sent to Charlotte Dec. 10 for Richardson and reserve forward Jared Dudley.
Bell and Diaw, who were in their fourth seasons in Phoenix, had their roles reduced following O’Neal’s acquisition and coach Terry Porter replacing Mike D’Antoni.