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Thomas leads Clippers past Bobcats

Mar 17, 2007 - 5:16 AM CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Ticker) -- When the Los Angeles Clippers looked to end their road struggles they turned to reserve Tim Thomas.

Thomas scored 24 points and Elton Brand added 19 and 10 rebounds as the Clippers posted a 102-93 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats, ending a six-game road losing streak.

Corey Maggette and Cuttino Mobley each had 14 points for Los Angeles (30-35), which moves one-half game ahead of Golden State (30-36) for the eighth place in the Western Conference.

"This game was a pivotal game for us," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "We had to have this win. We have to get wins on this road trip."

Thomas shot 9-of-12 from the field, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, as the Clippers also ended a five-game losing streak.

"I'm never afraid to shoot the basketball," Thomas said. "If I'm open it's going to go up. Tonight, I caught myself with my feet set and anytime they're set, the ball is going up."

Brand scored 13 of his points in the third quarter when Los Angeles changed a 53-53 halftime score into a 13-point advantage at 79-66 entering the final period.

"We did a great job with the guys we had, and kept it close until fatigue set in and they just took control of the game," Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace said.

Sam Cassell added 11 points off the bench for the Clippers, who shot 50 percent (40-of-80) and improved their road record to 9-23.

"Our whole game plan is to always be aggressive," Cassell said. "We understood the Bobcats tonight. We wanted to use our size to beat them. We did a great job doing that, especially in the second half."

Raymond Felton scored 18 points and Wallace and reserve Walter Herrmann each had 15 for Charlotte, which is 0-6 all-time vs. Los Angeles.

"We put ourselves in a great situation to be in the game, but it just didn't fall our way," Felton said.