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01-18-2010, 02:49 AM
Saturday, January 16, 2010
By MIKE CRANSTON, AP Sports Writer
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Stephen Jackson scored 29 points to surpass 10,000 career points, Gerald Wallace added 29 points and 13 rebounds, and the Charlotte Bobcats continued one of their best stretches in franchise history with a 125-99 rout of the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night.
Winning their fourth straight game and extending their team record to seven consecutive home wins, the Bobcats (19-19) were never threatened in a record-setting night that saw them reach .500 at the latest point in team history.
They toyed with the Suns, who trailed by as many as 39 points a night after losing on a buzzer-beater at Atlanta.
Amare Stoudemire also reached 10,000 points, finishing with 19 for Phoenix, which has dropped 10 of its past 11 road games.
This one was never in doubt. The Bobcats set a team record for points in a quarter with 43 in the first and tied a team mark with 74 points in the first half.
Jackson, who has keyed Charlotte's transformation since his November acquisition, reached his milestone on a layup with 7:15 left in the second quarter. When the feat was announced to the crowd at the next timeout, Charlotte led 58-27.
The Bobcats, who hit their first six 3-point shots, led 74-47 at halftime and Wallace already had 24 points.
And to fans in Phoenix, it was the continuation of a rough day. Just as the Cardinals' ugly playoff loss to New Orleans went final, fans who turned the channel to basketball found the lethargic Suns down 31 points.
Later, Goran Dragic, who had been seeing increased playing time ahead of Jason Richardson, collided with DeSagana Diop early in the fourth quarter and limped to the locker room.
At least this time Phoenix didn't blow a big lead in what's been a brutal 0-3 road trip.
After Indiana rallied from 24 points down to win on Wednesday, Phoenix gave up another lead and lost to Atlanta on Friday on Jamal Crawford's 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Not even Alvin Gentry's return home _ he grew up about an hour away in Shelby, N.C. _ could keep the Suns from losing their third straight.
Gentry called a timeout 1:17 into the game and moments before Charlotte took a 12-0 lead on Jackson's 3. It was 43-22 after the first quarter and not even Gentry picking up a technical early in the second quarter could get Phoenix out of its slumber.
While the Bobcats entered as one of the league's lowest-scoring teams and the Suns the highest, the roles were reversed. It was Charlotte beating the lifeless Suns in transition and from the outside.
The latest the 6-year-old Bobcats had been .500 was at 6-6 in the 2007-08 season. But with seven wins in the last eight games, they are looking increasingly dangerous.
The 27-year-old Stoudemire became the youngest player in Suns history to reach 10,000 points on a bucket midway through the third quarter that made it 85-54.
He got little help. Grant Hill shot 1 for 4 and had three points in 18 minutes, Steve Nash was 2 for 7 and had five points in 27 minutes, and the Suns failed to reach 100 points for the first time in 13 games.
NOTES: The Bobcats' previous record for points in a quarter was 42 against the Lakers in the 2006-07 season. They also scored 74 points in the first half of a loss to the Suns in 2005-06. ... The Suns locker room before the game had a big screen TV showing the Bobcats game from Friday. Another TV above it, with sound, showed Cardinals-Saints. Almost all eyes were on the NFL playoff game.
By MIKE CRANSTON, AP Sports Writer
* ShareThis
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Stephen Jackson scored 29 points to surpass 10,000 career points, Gerald Wallace added 29 points and 13 rebounds, and the Charlotte Bobcats continued one of their best stretches in franchise history with a 125-99 rout of the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night.
Winning their fourth straight game and extending their team record to seven consecutive home wins, the Bobcats (19-19) were never threatened in a record-setting night that saw them reach .500 at the latest point in team history.
They toyed with the Suns, who trailed by as many as 39 points a night after losing on a buzzer-beater at Atlanta.
Amare Stoudemire also reached 10,000 points, finishing with 19 for Phoenix, which has dropped 10 of its past 11 road games.
This one was never in doubt. The Bobcats set a team record for points in a quarter with 43 in the first and tied a team mark with 74 points in the first half.
Jackson, who has keyed Charlotte's transformation since his November acquisition, reached his milestone on a layup with 7:15 left in the second quarter. When the feat was announced to the crowd at the next timeout, Charlotte led 58-27.
The Bobcats, who hit their first six 3-point shots, led 74-47 at halftime and Wallace already had 24 points.
And to fans in Phoenix, it was the continuation of a rough day. Just as the Cardinals' ugly playoff loss to New Orleans went final, fans who turned the channel to basketball found the lethargic Suns down 31 points.
Later, Goran Dragic, who had been seeing increased playing time ahead of Jason Richardson, collided with DeSagana Diop early in the fourth quarter and limped to the locker room.
At least this time Phoenix didn't blow a big lead in what's been a brutal 0-3 road trip.
After Indiana rallied from 24 points down to win on Wednesday, Phoenix gave up another lead and lost to Atlanta on Friday on Jamal Crawford's 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Not even Alvin Gentry's return home _ he grew up about an hour away in Shelby, N.C. _ could keep the Suns from losing their third straight.
Gentry called a timeout 1:17 into the game and moments before Charlotte took a 12-0 lead on Jackson's 3. It was 43-22 after the first quarter and not even Gentry picking up a technical early in the second quarter could get Phoenix out of its slumber.
While the Bobcats entered as one of the league's lowest-scoring teams and the Suns the highest, the roles were reversed. It was Charlotte beating the lifeless Suns in transition and from the outside.
The latest the 6-year-old Bobcats had been .500 was at 6-6 in the 2007-08 season. But with seven wins in the last eight games, they are looking increasingly dangerous.
The 27-year-old Stoudemire became the youngest player in Suns history to reach 10,000 points on a bucket midway through the third quarter that made it 85-54.
He got little help. Grant Hill shot 1 for 4 and had three points in 18 minutes, Steve Nash was 2 for 7 and had five points in 27 minutes, and the Suns failed to reach 100 points for the first time in 13 games.
NOTES: The Bobcats' previous record for points in a quarter was 42 against the Lakers in the 2006-07 season. They also scored 74 points in the first half of a loss to the Suns in 2005-06. ... The Suns locker room before the game had a big screen TV showing the Bobcats game from Friday. Another TV above it, with sound, showed Cardinals-Saints. Almost all eyes were on the NFL playoff game.