Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Kemba Walker filled the stat sheet with 22
points, eight assists and seven rebounds to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a
91-86 overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls in the regular season finale for
both teams.
Walker poured in eight points in the extra frame, surpassing the six points
that Chicago scored, while the Bulls shot 2-for-10 from the field in overtime.
Chris Douglas-Roberts netted 13 -- 12 of which came in the fourth -- and
Gerald Henderson had 11 points and six rebounds for the Bobcats (43-39), who
earned the seventh seed and will face the two-time defending NBA champion
Miami Heat in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Al Jefferson
had 10 points and 18 rebounds.
"I think this is the type of game that we needed going into the
playoffs," said Jefferson. "That's a playoff team and that's a playoff game
that we played tonight. That's the way the playoffs are going to be, no matter
who we play."
Charlotte won 11 of 13 to close out the regular season, however, the Bobcats
have lost 16 straight regular season matchups against Miami, who they'll face
for the first time ever in the playoffs.
D.J. Augustin netted 17, and Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah added 14 points
apiece, with 11 and 13 rebounds, respectively, for the Bulls (48-34), who
took the No. 4 seed and will face the Washington Wizards in the first round of
the playoffs, starting Sunday night.
"We gave it everything we had and there's no regrets in that and now like my
boy Mike Dunleavy said, 'This is the fruit of our labor, now we'll have fun in
the playoffs,'" said Noah.
Jimmy Butler and Mike Dunleavy added 12 points apiece in defeat. The Bulls won
8-of-10 to end their regular season.
Walker opened the scoring in overtime with a pair from the charity stripe.
Following three misses from the Bulls, Henderson nailed a 13-footer to put the
Bobcats ahead, 84-80, with 2 1/2 minutes left to play.
After another Chicago miss, Dunleavy split a pair from the line and Walker
answered with six straight points before the Bulls made their first field goal
of the extra frame with 31 seconds remaining. Douglas-Roberts went 1-of-2 from
the line before Augustin knocked down a trey to round out the scoring.
With the game tied at 80, the Bobcats had a chance to take the victory
following a Taj Gibson miss with 21.9 seconds on the clock. Walker held for
the last shot, however, he couldn't connect on a step-back jumper at the
buzzer.
The Bulls led, 60-59, to start the final 12 minutes of regulation. Augustin
hit 3-pointer with 5:42 left to give the Bulls a, 75-70, lead. Douglas-
Roberts, however, scored the next five to knot the score with 3 1/2 left in
the fourth.
Kirk Hinrich then nailed a triple from the corner to put Chicago ahead three,
however, a Henderson slam brought Charlotte within one. Augustin staked the
Bulls a 3-point lead after knocking down a jumper with 2 1/2 on the clock.
Chicago missed three shots through the final two minutes and the Bobcats went
3-for-4 from the foul line to send the game into overtime.
The third quarter saw neither team lead by more than five points, featuring
four ties and three lead changes. Chicago made 36.8 percent (7-for-19) of its
shots in the period, compared to the Bobcats making 25 percent (5-for-20) of
their field goals.
Earlier, in the second frame the teams traded scores until halfway through
when Charlotte went on a 22-8 tear to close out the half. Walker provided
eight points on the run to help the Bobcats take a 43-39 lead into the locker
room.
The first quarter went back-and-forth, with three ties and two lead changes.
Chicago held the largest margin of eight points and took a 21-16 edge into the
second.
Game Notes
Charlotte has now won 14 of 15 at home ... The Bobcats outscored the Bulls by
a margin of 42-28 inside the paint ... Charlotte grabbed 53 rebounds compared
to 44 by Chicago.
