NBA

Depleted Bobcats overcome Bulls

By wire services
Published December 29, 2005

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Melvin Ely scored 20 and Primoz Brezec added 17 and 14 rebounds to lead the undermanned Bobcats over the Chicago Bulls 93-80 Wednesday night.

Despite being without four of their top seven scorers for most of the game because of injury, the Bobcats forced 25 turnovers and outrebounded the Bulls 50-38 to win for the fifth time in seven games.

Luol Deng scored 18 and Darius Songaila added 12 for the Bulls, who lost their fifth straight, their longest skid since starting 0-9 last season.

The Bobcats, who started with only 11 healthy players, lost starting guard Brevin Knight to a sprained left ankle in the second quarter. Knight, who scored 22 points in Tuesday's win at Atlanta, did not return. The Bobcats were already without Emeka Okafor (ankle), Kareem Rush (finger), Sean May (knee) and Jake Voskuhl (ankle).

But despite their lack of size, the Bobcats rallied from an eight-point third-quarter deficit thanks to their offensive rebounding.

Chicago missed its first three shots and committed four turnovers to start the fourth quarter as Charlotte extended its lead to 71-63 with a 12-0 run.

HORNETS 92, ROCKETS 90: David West's jump shot from the foul line with 1.8 seconds remaining gave New Orleans the win at Oklahoma City.

West's shot came on Chris Paul's 15th assist, a career high for the rookie, and helped the Hornets end a two-game losing streak. Houston lost its fourth straight despite a season-high 38 points from Tracy McGrady.

McGrady's two free throws with 12 seconds left tied it at 90. After West's shot, the Rockets were able to get the ball inside to Stromile Swift, who had a season-best 26, but his shot was off the mark. Swift also had a season-high 13 rebounds.

SUNS 104, WIZARDS 99: Shawn Marion scored 28 and visiting Phoenix rallied from an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit. Marion made 12 of 16 shots and scored nine points in the final period.

Steve Nash added 19 points and 16 assists for the Suns, who have won the first two games of a five-game road trip.

Caron Butler scored 22, Antawn Jamison 19 and Gilbert Arenas struggled to score 16 for the Wizards, who lost for the first time in four games since moving Butler to the starting lineup.

RAPTORS 108, HAWKS 102: Mike James scored 28, Morris Peterson added a season-high 26 as Toronto won a matchup of two of the NBA's worst teams. James also had nine assists and six rebounds for the Raptors, who improved to 2-12 at home. Toronto is 7-22 overall, Atlanta 7-20.

Al Harrington had 25 points for the Hawks, who are 0-2 against Toronto this season. Atlanta has lost nine of its last 10 visits to Toronto.

WOLVES 108, SONICS 95: Wally Szczerbiak scored 30 and Kevin Garnett had 26 and 10 rebounds as host Minnesota snapped its two-game losing streak.

Minnesota won for only the second time in eight games despite playing with a banged-up frontcourt. With starting center Michael Olowokandi sidelined by a right elbow injury and backup Mark Madsen limited by a bruised back, Minnesota kept a three-guard lineup for most of the game with Garnett and Griffin up front.

KINGS: Forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim's mouth will be wired shut for six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair his jaw, which was broken by an elbow from Portland's Zach Randolph in Monday night's game. He will be re-evaluated after two weeks, with no timetable on his return.

NUGGETS: Center Marcus Camby will be out indefinitely after breaking his right pinkie finger, an injury that will require surgery. Camby, leading the NBA with 12.9 rebounds per game, will have pins surgically inserted. A timeline for his return will be set after the surgery. The 10-year veteran also is second in the league in blocked shots (3.12) and is averaging 16.3 points.

[Last modified December 29, 2005, 00:52:13]