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Bobcats snap Cavaliers' eight-game winning streak

Mar 21, 2007 - 3:54 AM CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Ticker) -- A pair of rookies trumped LeBron James.

Adam Morrison and Walter Herrmann each hit 3-pointers in overtime to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 108-100 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Despite 37 points from superstar James, the Cavaliers (41-26) had their eight-game winning streak snapped and fell 2 1/2 games behind the Detroit Pistons in the Central Division. James missed a winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer in regulation.

"It's not disappointing," James insisted. "We gave ourselves a chance to win at the end of regulation, but I didn't come through for the team.

"It's just a lot of unforced errors we made down the stretch and we paid for them."

Cleveland led by 10 points on two occasions early in the fourth quarter but couldn't hold off determined Charlotte, which also erased an eight-point lead with 5:00 to play and a four-point deficit in the final 40 seconds.

"I think that's the attitude that coach has instilled in this team," Bobcats swingman Matt Carroll said. "No matter what the score, never give up. Keep playing like it's a tie game or we're down and just keep fighting."

With the score tied at 96-96 in the extra session, Morrison, the No. 3 pick in the 2006 draft, drilled a long 3-pointer to give the Bobcats the lead for good.

Raymond Felton made it a five-point advantage on a drive down the lane, but James dunked to cut it to 101-98 with 45 seconds left.

That left it to Herrmann, a first-year player from Argentina, to cap a career night by hitting from the arc for a 104-98 cushion with 31 seconds left.

"I felt no pressure. I knew it was a big shot, but I felt confident," Herrmann said. "I let it fly and it went it. I'm getting more minutes and feel more comfortable in the system. I'm playing without thinking now.

Herrmann registered season highs with 19 points and 10 rebounds, his first double-double in the NBA.

The Cavaliers also had no answers for high-flying Gerald Wallace, who had 27 points, 11 boards and five blocked shots.

"There was nobody really there to contain him in terms of his athleticism," Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. "He was making shots, he's our utility guy. He was blocking shots, rebounding, scoring, that's what Gerald's been doing. We just can't say Gerald did that tonight. Gerald's been doing that for us consistently."

Carroll scored 20 points, including four free throws in the final 39 seconds of regulation to force overtime, for Charlotte.

"It's a huge win for us," Carroll said. "We need any win we can get, but to beat one of the top teams in the East is big for us."

Larry Hughes had 17 points for Cleveland, which finished just 3-of-20 from the arc.

"(The Bobcats) are very explosive at home," James said. "When you are almost out of the playoff hunt, then you're playing for pride. They do a good job of playing for pride and not getting down. We just made some bad mistakes at the end of the game which hurt us."