Hornets 89 - 99 Cavaliers
Final
  for this game

Bobcats hope to stop skid in Cleveland

Apr 5, 2011 - 2:56 PM (Sports Network) - The chances of Charlotte reaching the postseason in consecutive years for the first time in franchise history are dwindling with just six games remaining in the season.

The playoff-hopeful Bobcats will try to avoid their third straight loss tonight against the moribund Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. They have lost two in a row since a four-game winning streak and suffered a 97-91 setback versus Washington on Sunday, as Matt Carroll finished with a season- high 26 points off the bench and D.J. Augustin added 21 and seven assists.

Boris Diaw and Gerald Henderson both netted 13 points for Charlotte, which sits two games behind Indiana for the eighth and final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference with six games left.

"That's a huge loss," Bobcats head coach Paul Silas said. "This was one that was almost a must win."

Stephen Jackson did not play against the Wizards because of a strained left hamstring and has missed two games in a row. He is slated to miss tonight's game with the Cavaliers. Meanwhile, Henderson has scored in double figures in a career-best eight straight games.

Charlotte is just 12-26 away from Time Warner Cable Arena this season.

The Cavaliers are closing out a terrible season in which they are a miserable 15-61. They lost all three bouts on a recent road trip and are 2-8 in the previous 10 contests.

In Sunday's 123-107 blowout loss at the hands of the New York Knicks at historic Madison Square Garden, J.J. Hickson scored 23 points and Baron Davis netted 22 for the Cavaliers, whose three-game slide comes on the heels of a big win over LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

Cleveland committed 22 turnovers for 25 New York points.

"It makes it extremely hard when you have [22] turnovers," Cavs head coach Byron Scott said. "We were very careless with the ball."

The Cavs are only 10-28 in the Forest City this season and will miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2004-05 campaign.

Charlotte is aiming for its first series sweep of the Cavaliers in team history and has won the first two meetings of the season, including a 98-97 victory in the most recent encounter on March 30. The Bobcats have won five straight over the Cavs, winners in 10 of the 11 matchups at the Q.






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