Bobcats at Knicks
THE STORY: The Charlotte Bobcats haven’t won since beating the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden last Wednesday – and the Knicks haven’t lost. The two teams meet in the same building on Monday with Charlotte hoping to repeat its fine performance from five nights earlier. The Bobcats shot a season-high 55.3 percent in the 118-100 victory over the Knicks with Boris Diaw leading the way with 27 points. Charlotte wasn’t able to build on the victory and lost to the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers on back-to-back nights, scoring a season-low 77 against the Pacers in a dreary 22-point loss. “We did not play tough,” Bobcats coach Paul Silas said afterward. “They banged us up and we didn’t respond.” New York certainly responded to the indignity of losing at home to the Bobcats by winning back-to-back road games against the Washington Wizards and the Detroit Pistons. Forward Carmelo Anthony had only 13 points in Saturday’s victory against Detroit when was dealing with knee and back pain but is expected to play against the Bobcats. Anthony had 32 points in the recent loss to Charlotte.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Charlotte), MSG (New York), NBATV
ABOUT THE BOBCATS (2-6): Guard Gerald Henderson had a superb game against the Knicks when he scored 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting but was unable to follow up the stellar showing. Henderson averaged only 9.0 points and shot 28 percent from the field in the ensuing games. The Bobcats are shy on offensive firepower and are hoping the third-year guard will develop into a more consistent force. Henderson finished last season strong and is averaging 14.1 points this season.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (4-4): Veteran guard Mike Bibby suddenly found his shooting stroke and made seven consecutive 3-pointers over the past two games. Bibby was only 1-for-10 from 3-point range before the stunning turnaround. He had a season-high 16 points against Detroit and figures to get more minutes as long as he’s hot. The slump of former starting guard Toney Douglas (33 percent) also opens up more playing time for Bibby. Rookie Iman Shumpert is now starting ahead of Douglas.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Charlotte’s win over the Knicks last week improved its record to 4-9 at Madison Square Garden.
2. Bobcats forward Corey Maggette will miss 2-to-4 weeks because of the hamstring injury he suffered against the Knicks.
3. Anthony is averaging 28.6 points in 14 career outings against Charlotte.