# Charlotte Bobcats @ San Antonio (18th March)



## Tersk

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Charlotte Bobcats (12-51) vs San Antonio Spurs (49-15)

Starting Lineups:*





































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Key Matchup:








vs <IMG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=300 BORDER=0 ALT="Duncan, Tim" TITLE="Duncan, Tim" SRC="/img/headshots/200x300/spurs/DUNCAN, TIM.jpg">

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No chance at all IMO, we are playing @ San Antonio (they are 30-3 there) and we are (2-29) when playing away


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## Charlotte_______

Well I hate to say it but there's a good chance we will lose this one. Okafor will have his hands full and so will Brevin Knight. The best to come out of this is that we wil get some experience


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## Tersk

Lately, it seems a different player is rising to the occasion for the San Antonio Spurs in every game.

The Spurs, getting big contributions from role players, go for a third consecutive blowout victory as they meet the Charlotte Bobcats.

Nagging injuries to the Spurs' three best players -- Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili -- have threatened to throw San Antonio off track at times this season. But the Spurs have barely missed a beat with players like Devin Brown, Beno Udrih and Robert Horry picking up the slack.

Now that Duncan and Parker appear to be back at full strength -- Ignoble is still nursing a strained groin -- the Spurs have one of the more battle-tested benches in the league.

Brown scored 22 points in a 90-74 win at New Jersey on March 8. Without Duncan and Ginobili in its next two games, San Antonio came close to knocking off two of the NBA's hottest teams, losing close contests to Phoenix and Denver.

The Spurs bounced back to beat New Orleans 112-89 on Monday behind 25 points from Udrih. Two nights later, Horry stepped up with 18 points in 21 minutes of an 89-73 win over Minnesota.

Horry connected on four of his five 3-point attempts while posting his highest point total in nearly two seasons with the team. His previous high as a member of the Spurs was 14.

``Right now I think everyone is trying to get in a rhythm,'' said Horry, averaging five points and shooting 34 percent from behind the arc this season. ``I felt pretty good tonight and wanted to keep shooting it.''

Duncan, who had 25 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks, said Horry is just starting to get serious.

``Rob just messes around the entire season until he's ready to play -- that's his m.o.,'' Duncan said with a smirk. ``He felt tonight was a playoff-type game and he said, 'Hey, I'll play. Let me play.'''

Ginobili, meanwhile, has sat out the last four games and it's uncertain if he'll return for this contest.

San Antonio has won six of its last seven home games and is 2-1 on a four-game homestand.

The Bobcats, despite a recent scoring surge, have lost eight straight after opening a tough three-game road trip with a 120-101 loss at Denver on Wednesday.

Keith Bogans scored 19 points and Emeka Okafor had 17 points and eight rebounds for Charlotte, which is averaging 109 points over the last three losses.

The Bobcats caught the Nuggets on a night when they recorded season highs in points, 3-pointers (10), field goals made (46) and fast-break points (38). Denver also dished out an NBA season-high 40 assists.

``They held serve,'' Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. ``I can't come up with any reason that we should have won the game. They hurt us in every aspect of the game. It didn't matter what we did or showed defensively.''

The Bobcats conclude their western trip at Dallas on Saturday.

TEAM LEADERS: *Bobcats* - Okafor, 15 ppg and 10.7 rpg; Knight, 8.4 apg. 
*Spurs* - Duncan, 21.2 ppg and 11.6 rpg; Parker, 6.2 apg.

SEASON SERIES: Spurs, 1-0.

LAST MEETING: Feb. 8; Spurs, 104-85. At Charlotte, N.C., Nesterovic gave the Spurs a huge lift with 15 points and eight rebounds as Duncan sat out with a sprained ankle.

ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Bobcats - 2-29 on the road; Spurs - 30-3 at home.

INJURIES: Bobcats - F Gerald Wallace (ribs); G-F Tamar Slay (foot); F Kareem Rush (knee). 
*Spurs* - F-C Sean Marks (foot); F Linton Johnson (ankle); G Ginobili (groin).


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## Turkish Delight

This will be a big test for Okafor.
San Antonio should walk away with the win, but it'll be interesting to see how he plays.


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## Tersk

Click here to bet on the Bobcats/Spurs Matchup 

Spurs have a -16 line, at the end of the match add 16 onto the Bobcats and if they have ahigher score than the Spurs then you win your money back + more (assuming you win on them)


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## DHarris34Phan

*Bobcats will cover the spread...but they will still lose the game. I hope that Emeka Okafor has a good game too :clap: *


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## KokoTheMonkey

Okafor/Duncan should be a very intriguing matchup. I'm looking forward to that. 



Charlotte needs a few guys to come in and hit jumpers if they want the game to remain close, because if not they could be looking at a little more than 70 points total.


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## FreeMason Jr.

Timy's finally starting to get his game back, but Tony played pretty lousy last night. These injuries are really hurting the spurs. I wouldn't be too suprised if this game turned out pretty close. I just hope the Spurs can manage to win by enough to cover the spread.


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## Tersk

Talk about a terrible start

B.Barry makes a shot
Bobcats turnover
B.Barry misses a shot
Duncan offensive rebound
B.Knight fouls TParker
TParker makes first FT, misses 2nd
Duncan offensive rebound
K.Bogans fouls
Rasho misses a shot
Duncan offensive rebound


After all that, luckily it's only 3-0


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## Tersk

Bobcats up 4, over the Spurs 

Brezec has 6, but so does Duncan


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## Tersk

Damn, Jason Hart missed a layup on the buzzer. It would of closed the gap to two instead of four

*Yahoo!'s players to watch* 
Primoz Brezec: 8 points/2 rebounds/1 assist
Tony Parker: 5 points/1 rebound/3 assists

San Antonio -- 24-20 -- Charlotte Bobcats

Spurs just aren't connecting their FT's, 4-9 compared to Charlotte 7-9

Not watching the game? Heres the next best thing


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## KokoTheMonkey

Charlotte had a very scrappy first half, and if it wasn't for a few easy baskets here and there for the Spurs this would be a 2-3 point game. 


Ely has had a nice first half with 8 points in 11 minutes. He's hit a couple of jump hooks.


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## KokoTheMonkey

Spurs went up big at the end of the 3rd quarter by increasing the tempo.


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