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Bobcats dominate Celtics to end 10-game slide

Mar 13, 2013 - 3:30 AM Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - Gerald Henderson scored a career-high 35 points and made all 12 of his free throw attempts as the Charlotte Bobcats ended a 10-game skid by downing the Boston Celtics, 100-74, on Tuesday.

Ben Gordon added 17 points and Josh McRoberts recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who won for the first time since Feb. 19.

"It feels good to win again," Henderson said. "We work hard every day to get a win out here. It's just extra special to do it with a career night. We played hard out there and it paid off."

Jeff Green and Jordan Crawford each netted 14 points for the Celtics, who have lost two straight following a five-game winning streak. Brandon Bass and Avery Bradley donated 10 points apiece in defeat.

The Bobcats came out firing to start the second half, outscoring the visitors 7-0 to take a 10-point lead. Bass had a put-back dunk with 4:49 to play in the third to bring the Celtics within 64-57, but Boston struggled to close the quarter and managed just four points after the bucket.

New Orleans, though, took advantage to score 12 points during the span to take a 76-61 lead into the fourth. Boston, meanwhile, was outscored 27-15 overall in the third, and made a mere 3-of-15 from the floor.

The damage had been done and proved to be just what the Bobcats needed, as the lead grew to 24 on a monster alley oop slam from Gordon to McRoberts around the midway point of the fourth.

The Bobcats never looked back before cruising to the much-needed win.

"We approached the game with the wrong mentality," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "We laid an egg. We could never get it started. They played really hard. We just couldn't match how hard they played tonight for whatever reason. That's on me. That's disappointing that I couldn't get that out of our guys. They were clearly so much more competitive than us the entire night."

The second quarter saw both teams go toe-to-toe, as the margin never got higher than four points for either squad. Henderson's fadeaway jumper sent the hosts into the break up, 49-46.

Henderson and Gordon paced Charlotte offensively, accounting for 19 of the team's 30 points, though, Henderson stole the show in the first half with 21 points.

The Celtics had a more balanced attack at the break with 10 different players finding the scoreboard, but none were in double-figures.

Charlotte scored the first eight points of the contest, though the Celtics held a 20-19 edge after one quarter.

Game Notes

Paul Pierce missed the contest to catch up on rest ... Charlotte holds a 2-1 edge in the series this season, having also defeated Boston in Charlotte on Feb. 11. ... Kevin Garnett scored just five points in 20 1/2 minutes of play ... Boston leads the all-time series 22-9 ... The Bobcats held a 40-24 advantage on points in the paint ... The Celtics are 12-20 on the road this season.