Charlotte pulls out victory over short-handed Jazz

Basketball Betting Lines

11/14/2008 - Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Wallace scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 104-96 victory over the ailing Utah Jazz, who were without three of their top six players.

Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur each missed the game for Utah due to either injury or family reasons.

Raymond Felton had 23 points and six assists for the Bobcats, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Adam Morrison went 5-for-8 from the floor for 15 points, including 10 in the fourth, and Charlotte shot 46.6 percent from the field overall and made 31-of-38 free throws.

Carlos Boozer paced the Jazz with 26 points and 15 rebounds, while Ronnie Price started in place of Williams and had 14 points. Okur's replacement, rookie Kosta Koufos, added nine points and 10 rebounds for Utah, which has dropped three of four after winning its first five games of the year.

Heading into the fourth down three, Utah tied the game at 71 on Kyle Korver's three early in the period. Charlotte responded with five straight points, as Morrison's long distance shot made it 76-71 with 9:11 left.

Wallace's driving layup made it an six-point game, and his two free throws on the following possession made it 84-76 with 6:50 to play. But Utah quickly ripped off a 6-0 run, and C.J. Miles' layup cut the deficit to two.

Morrison's three restored a five-point edge, but Ronnie Brewer came back with a three-point play. Felton hit a couple free throws to make it 89-85 with just under four minutes to play, but Boozer kept it a two-point game with two points at the charity stripe.

D.J. Augustin answered with two free throws, and another layup gave Charlotte a six-point edge with 1:42 left. Boozer pulled the Jazz to within three with under a minute to play on a dunk and a layup, and Felton made it 97-92 with 35.3 seconds left on a couple free throws.

Utah failed to score on its next possession, and the Bobcats hung on from there.

Boozer paced the Jazz early. Down 8-6 in the early minutes, Boozer had five points as part of a 17-6 Utah run to take a 23-14 lead with 3:10 left in the quarter. Charlotte managed to score four quick points, but the Jazz led 25-18 after the first.

Utah scored nine of the second quarter's first 13 points, as Korver's three gave the team its largest lead at 34-22. The Bobcats answered with a 9-2 run of their own, as Shannon Brown helped the team get back in it with a couple jumpers.

Down 40-33, Charlotte ripped off five straight points to make it a two-point game with just over two minutes left in the half. Jared Dudley tied the game for the Bobcats with 39 seconds left, and Dudley's jumper off a steal in the waning moments gave Charlotte a narrow 44-43 advantage at the break.

Trailing 50-47 early in the third, the Bobcats went on a 9-2 burst to take a 56-52 advantage. But Boozer's old-fashioned three-point play with 4:38 on the clock gave Utah a 59-58 lead; however, Charlotte held a 71-68 cushion heading into the final frame.

Game Notes

Williams missed the game with a sprained ankle. He had missed the first six games before playing in the previous two. Kirilenko was out with a sprained finger, while Okur missed his third consecutive game while attending to his ailing father in Turkey...Charlotte's Jason Richardson missed the game after undergoing exploratory surgery on his right knee on Wednesday...The home team has won five straight in the series...Utah's Paul Millsap had 12 points and five rebounds.