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Bobcats beat Raptors to end brief skid

Dec 15, 2010 - 5:03 AM Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - Boris Diaw made a key layup with 44.7 seconds remaining, and the Charlotte Bobcats defeated the Toronto Raptors, 97-91.

Diaw ended with nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Bobcats, who snapped a two-game skid. Nazr Mohammed tallied 18 points and eight boards, while Gerald Wallace chipped in with 16 points for the victors.

"That was kind of neat seeing Michael Jordan honored and all those people there," Bobcats head coach Larry Brown said. "That was a pretty impressive group."

Jerryd Bayless finished with 17 points and nine assists for the Raptors, who rallied from 25 points down to beat the Pistons, 120-116, on Saturday.

DeMar DeRozan donated 14 points for Toronto, which got 12 points apiece from Andrea Bargnani, Leandro Barbosa and Amir Johnson.

Tyrus Thomas and Matt Carroll made consecutive jumpers to give the Bobcats an 87-83 lead with 3:43 to play. DeRozan and Bargnani each made jumpers for Toronto to tie the game at 87-87 with 2:13 remaining.

After each team exchanged baskets, Thomas drained an 18-foot jumper to put Charlotte ahead by two. Bayless missed a 23-footer at the other end, leading to Diaw's layup with 44.7 seconds left for a 93-89 margin.

Linas Kleiza missed a three-pointer but Bargnani grabbed the offensive rebound. However, he turned the ball over on a bad pass.

The Bobcats made 4-of-6 foul shots down the stretch to seal the victory.

"We can't turn the ball over," Raptors head coach Jay Triano said. "A lot of the turnovers were going to the basket, which was good, but we've got to be more careful with the basketball."

The Bobcats raced out to a 12-4 lead, but Toronto responded with a 22-2 run to go in front. Bayless and Sonny Weems each made three-pointers during the surge, which DeRozan capped with a layup for a 26-14 margin with 1:53 remaining.

The Raptors held a 29-20 lead after 12 minutes. However, the Bobcats outscored Toronto, 27-24, in the second quarter to cut the gap to 53-47 at the half.

Trailing by eight, 57-49, early in the third, Charlotte put together a 9-0 flurry to take the lead. Wallace bookended the burst with a pair of layups to give the Bobcats a 58-57 edge with 7:43 to go.

It was 72-72 heading to the fourth.

Game Notes

Charlotte defeated Toronto, 101-96, back on November 10 at Air Canada Centre and has won five of the past seven meetings between the teams...Raptors guard Jose Calderon missed the game...Thomas ended with 14 points and seven rebounds...Charlotte made 52 percent of its shots, while Toronto shot 40.4 percent from the field...Kleiza had nine points off the bench.