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Felton, Bobcats edge Pacers in OT

Nov 29, 2008 - 6:39 AM INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- The Charlotte Bobcats received a spark with the return of Jason Richardson, but it was a pair of young guards that carried them to their first road win.

Raymond Felton matched a career-high with 31 points and rookie D.J. Augustin scored seven of his 17 points in overtime as Charlotte defeated the Indiana Pacers, 115-108, on Friday.

"We beat a good team tonight at home, so it shows we're getting better," said Felton, who added seven assists. "It takes some time to get used to a system and a new coach (Larry Brown), but we have a lot of talent here."

Richardson, who had missed more than two weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, added 21 as the NBA's lowest-scoring team recorded a season-high points total.

"It was great to get back out there on the court," Richardson said. "It was a good thing we got a win, our first road win of the year. We did everything we had to, and we won the game tonight."

Emeka Okafor totaled 14 points and 20 rebounds and Gerald Wallace had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte, which dropped its first four road games of the season.

"It's important for us to get any kind of win," Brown said. "A win on the road, though, is really important."

Danny Granger scored a season-high 35 points while Marquis Daniels and T.J. Ford added 20 apiece for Indiana, which has lost four of its last five.

"We must put this behind us and string some (victories) together," Daniels said. "This is no fun."

Charlotte raced to a lead in overtime, scoring the first seven points. After Wallace knocked down a free throw, Felton and Augustin sank 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give the Bobcats a lead they would not relinquish.

"It kind of broke their backs a little bit," Felton said. "They fought back, but we kept the lead throughout the whole overtime and that was big for us."

Ford scored eight points in overtime to keep Indiana close, but Augustin was successful on four straight free throw attempts down the stretch to keep Charlotte in front.

"We dug ourselves a big hole, got out of it ... but once again couldn't close it out," Ford said.

The Bobcats, who trailed, 87-80, early in the fourth quarter, used a 13-3 run to take the lead. Augustin, Richardson and Felton hit from behind the arc as Charlotte hit 9-of-21 on the night from three.

Charlotte took advantage a foul-troubled Granger, who was hit with his fifth with 10:10 remaining, sparking the Bobcats' push.

"Danny looked like he could do just about anything tonight," Brown said. "Luckily for us, he got in foul trouble."

Indiana, which was 11-of-28 from beyond the 3-point line, reclaimed the lead, 97-95, with 39 seconds left on a 3-pointer from Troy Murphy.

Okafor tied the game with a layup, and after Ford put the Pacers back in front, Felton went coast-to-coast to tie the game again and send it to overtime.

Granger, who was 14-of-21 from the field on the night, had a chance to win the game in regulation, but his shot was contested by Okafor and bounced off the iron.

"That's exactly what we wanted," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "We got the switch on Okafor and he (Granger) got a good shot. It just didn't go down."