• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

May's career-high 32 carries Bobcats past Magic

Dec 15, 2006 - 3:00 AM CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Sean May took full advantage of the shorthanded Orlando Magic.

May scored a career-high 32 points and rookie Adam Morrison added 22 and seven rebounds off the bench as the Charlotte Bobcats posted a 99-89 triumph over the Magic, who were without Grant Hill and Jameer Nelson.

May, who was the 13th overall pick last year, has been steadily improving after missing the final 4 1/2 months of his rookie campaign due to a season-long knee problem.

The 22-year-old May connected on 9-of-15 shots against Orlando and made 14-of-17 free throws. He also pulled down six rebounds.

"It was a good win. Shots fell for me and our guards did a great job and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time," May said. "The matchups worked and it seemed like everybody was pretty comfortable. Everybody is trying to put this thing together and hopefully we'll build off this and have some momentum going forward.

"I'm just elated about the win. After four losses in a row, we finally got one."

Emeka Okafor had 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks and Gerald Wallace chipped in 12 points and a season-high six steals for the Bobcats, who snapped a four-game slide.

Charlotte trailed, 20-19, in the second quarter before taking the lead for good when May's three-point play with 9:37 left sparked a 14-7 surge. Orlando was never able to cut the deficit under five points thereafter.

In the fourth quarter, Okafor scored on a two-handed jam and Morrison drained a 3-pointer from the right wing to help Charlotte extend its advantage to 81-67 with 9:15 remaining.

"It's nice to have the lead," said Morrison, who shot 3-of-4 from the arc. "We can go out there and set the tempo and play how we want to play and not have to rely on having to take quick jump shots all the time."

Keyon Dooling scored 20 points and Dwight Howard contributed 10 and 12 rebounds for Orlando, which shot 49 percent (34-of-69) from the floor and committed 23 turnovers.

"They didn't really do anything to limit us. We just weren't hitting shots," Howard said. "We just didn't have the energy that we usually have when we play. They had the energy in the post and were scoring at will."

"We had 23 turnovers and 20 of those came from our starters," Orlando coach Brian Hill said. "You're not going to win any games turning the basketball over like that."

The Magic have been battling several key injuries of late. Hill has tendinitis in his left knee and Nelson sat out his second straight game to rest his groin. Orlando already was without starting forward Hedo Turkoglu, who has a twisted right ankle.

"We're playing without four of our top players," Brian Hill said. "It's discouraging when you lose, but you also have to be realistic too. With as many guys as we have out, it's unfortunate that we weren't at full strength. It's not an excuse. You should still be able to come out on the court with the players you have and play well enough to win."