Nets at Bobcats
THE STORY: Deron Williams should be happy to see the
Charlotte Bobcats again Friday. The New Jersey Nets point guard set a
franchise record and NBA season-high with 57 points in a 104-101 victory
at Charlotte on Sunday. Williams hasn’t quite hit that mark in the last
two games, but he did lead the Nets to a win over the Los Angeles
Clippers on Wednesday. The Bobcats nearly won in spite of Williams’
heroics and have been mildly competitive of late, sandwiching a rare win
in between close losses.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBA TV, YES (Nets), SportSouth (Hornets)
ABOUT THE NETS (13-27):
Williams went 16 for 29 from the floor and 21 for 21 at the free throw
line Sunday. Williams scored 40 of those points in the second half after
Brook Lopez left with an ankle injury. Lopez has been absent each of
the last two games and will miss three weeks. Williams is not the only
clutch point guard on the Nets as Jordan Farmar proved his worth with a
last-second 3-pointer on Wednesday for a 101-100 victory over the
Clippers. Williams went for 21 points and 10 assists but passed up the
final shot.
ABOUT THE BOBCATS (5-32): Charlotte elected
not to double team Williams off pick-and-rolls Sunday, preferring to
defend the rest of the floor. The strategy nearly worked, as the Bobcats
came within a missed 3-pointer of sending the game to overtime. With
nothing to lose, coach Paul Silas is shaking up his lineup by sitting
some of the higher-paid players. Boris Diaw was inactive Wednesday,
while neither Tyrus Thomas nor DeSagana Diop - three of the four
highest-paid players on the team - got off the bench. The wake-up call
seems to have worked as the Bobcats overcame a 20-point deficit in the
win over Orlando and made things interesting in the fourth quarter
against Utah.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. New Jersey has won its last two trips to Charlotte.
2. Williams’ big night Sunday boosted his career average to 20.0 points against the Bobcats.
3. Charlotte guard Corey Maggette is averaging 26 points in the last three games.