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GAME #43
Charlotte Bobcats (11-34) vs Cleveland Cavaliers (25-17)
Charlotte Arena
Monday, January 30, 2006
7:30pm ET
TV: FSOhio
Radio : WTAM 1100
Head Coaches
Mike D'Antoni / Mike Brown
Probable Starters
Raymond Felton / Eric Snow
Kareem Rush / Sasha Pavlovic
Gerald Wallace / LeBron James
Emeka Okafor / Drew Gooden
Primoz Brezec / Zydrunas Ilguaskas
Cleveland Cavaliers Bench
D Jones/D Marshall/L Jackson/A Varejao/A Henderson/M Wilks/Z Hamilton
Charlotte Bobcats Bench
A Anderson/K Bogans/K Burleson/M Ely/J Jones/B Knight/S May
The Charlotte Bobcats have lost a franchise-record 11 straight games and the prospects of ending that Monday seem dim.
The short-handed Bobcats welcome LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to Charlotte Arena.
The Bobcats are 0-4 all-time against the Cavaliers with James' point total having risen in each game. James is averaging 24.8 points per game against Charlotte.
Charlotte's losing ways continued Saturday with a 107-97 loss to the Washington Wizards despite 27 points and 12 rebounds from center Primoz Brezec.
"We fought and fought and fought," said Bobcats forward Melvin Ely, who added 11 points. "The only thing we can do is play the same way and hope that things go our way in the end."
Charlotte's losing streak eclipsed a 10-game mark set from Jan. 7-27, 2005 and matched March 2-19. The Bobcats have not won a game since a 111-106 double-overtime win against the Houston Rockets on Jan. 10 and have scored 100 points just once since then.
The Bobcats have been devastated by injuries this season to Brevin Knight (concussion), Gerald Wallace (leg), reigning Rookie of the Year Emeka Okafor (ankle), Kareem Rush (finger), first-round draft pick Sean May (knee), and Keith Bogans (knee)
Coach Bernie Bickerstaff has dressed 10 or fewer players in 12 of the last 13 games, with only rookie point guard Raymond Felton appearing in all 45 games.
Brezec has recorded double-doubles in three of his last five games.
James, meanwhile, is coming off one of his best games of the season. He scored 32 of his 44 points in the second half of Cleveland's 113-106 win Sunday over the Phoenix Suns.
Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said his team cannot overlook Charlotte.
"We have to feel good about this win, but we have a back-to-back against Charlotte (Monday)," Brown said. "We have to come out focused and ready to play (Monday).
We are not a great road team, and until we can go out on the road and win consistently, we have to continue to not get too high on one win, but continue to concentrate on our next game."
Cleveland has won five in a row overall, but is only 3-5 in its last eight road games.
TEAM LEADERS: Cavaliers - James, 31.2 ppg and 6.3 apg; Gooden, 8.8 rpg. Bobcats - Wallace, 14.5 ppg; Okafor, 10 rpg; Knight, 8.1 apg.
2004-05 SEASON SERIES: Cavaliers, 4-0.
LAST MEETING: Jan. 11, 2005; Cavaliers, 100-98. At Cleveland, James fell two rebounds and an assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with 29 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Former Cavalier Knight tied a career-high with 20 assists for Charlotte.
ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Cavaliers - 9-12 on the road; Bobcats - 7-13 at home.
http://www.sportsline.com/nba/gamecenter/preview/NBA_20060130_CLE@CHA
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