• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Bobcats-Pacers Preview

Mar 15, 2010 - 7:53 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Charlotte (34-31) at Indiana (21-45), 7:00 p.m. EDT

The Charlotte Bobcats are brimming with confidence after extending their winning streak on the road against one of the league's best teams. With more tough opponents on the way, Stephen Jackson insists the Bobcats won't overlook one of the league's worst teams, especially after losing the last meeting.

Jackson looks to help Charlotte win seven straight games for the first time in franchise history and avenge a loss to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The Bobcats (34-31) matched the team record for consecutive victories with an impressive 96-89 win in Orlando on Sunday. Charlotte, which also won six straight Jan. 9-20, was playing without All-Star Gerald Wallace (left ankle), yet still managed to end a seven-game losing streak to the Magic.

"It was a big win. To win without Gerald against a team like Orlando - one of the best in the East is big for us," Jackson told the Bobcats' official Web site. "This really boosts our confidence. We can't get too high, but this is a big win for us."

With Wallace out, Jackson stepped up, finishing with 28 points, six assists and six rebounds.

Jackson, acquired in a trade with Golden State on Nov. 16, is one of the biggest reasons Charlotte's in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff mix. The Bobcats are one percentage point ahead of Miami for the sixth seed, and two games up on eighth-place Toronto.

Jackson is averaging 21.0 points during the six-game streak, and Charlotte is 31-25 with him in the lineup after starting the season 3-7.

"If he is not an All-Star in this league, I don't know who is," Charlotte's Theo Ratliff said. "It is time people recognize what he does on the floor."

Jackson is also trying to keep the Bobcats focused on the Pacers (21-45), and not get distracted with a schedule that features a home game against Oklahoma City on Wednesday followed by contests in Atlanta on Friday and Miami on Saturday. He believes it shouldn't be tough to get motivated to play an Indiana team that has the East's second-worst record, considering the Pacers defeated Charlotte 101-98 on Dec. 16.

"(Indiana) beat us already at their place, but we have a different mind-set right now," said Jackson, who played for the Pacers for 2 1/2 seasons. "We want to win and know what's at stake. We can't lay an egg and have to come out with a win - that's everybody's focus."

Jackson had 22 points on 7 of 23 shooting against the Pacers in November, while Wallace, who is listed as day-to-day, had 29 points and 12 rebounds. The two were overshadowed by Indiana's Troy Murphy, who finished with 26 points on 5 of 7 shooting from 3-point range and 15 boards.

While the Pacers got the better of the Bobcats three months ago, they haven't had much luck lately.

Indiana lost to Milwaukee 89-77 on Sunday, it sixth defeat in seven games and 13th in 16. The Pacers cut a 12-point deficit to two with 30 seconds to play but couldn't get any closer.

Danny Granger had a game-high 29 points Sunday, the third time in five games he reached that mark. In his only game against the Bobcats this season on Nov. 22, Granger scored 18 in a 104-88 loss.