Associated Press
CHARLOTTE ó D.J. Augustin made two free throws with 2.5 seconds left in the second overtime and the Charlotte Bobcats recovered from blowing an 18-point, fourth-quarter lead for a 102-100 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.
Stunned after New York’s comeback, the Bobcats persevered to win an ugly game between teams coming off blowout losses in their openers.
After Chris Duhon’s tying layup with 7.7 seconds left, Augustin was fouled by Al Harrington on a drive to the basket. Augustin had missed two free throws 16 seconds earlier, but this time calmly sank both.
The Knicks were out of timeouts, and Danilo Gallinari’s desperation halfcourt shot at the buzzer didn’t hit the rim, spoiling their spirited comeback.
Raymond Felton had 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, Gerald Wallace added 18 points and 15 rebounds and Boris Diaw had 17 points and 11 boards for the Bobcats, who were outscored 27-9 to close regulation in a collapse helped by New York’s suddenly hot shooting.
The Knicks didn’t take their first lead until midway through the first overtime, then rallied from down 100-96 in the second.
Augustin finished with 15 points.
David Lee had 17 points and 18 rebounds, while Harrington and Nate Robinson had 17 points each.
While the Knicks were taking quick shots and missing, the Bobcats were beating them in transition as Charlotte built a 32-13 lead. New York, which missed 20 of its first 25 shots, fell behind 47-26 and seemed out of it down 73-55 less than a minute into the fourth quarter.