With just four wins, the Charlotte Bobcats haven’t had much to cheer about in the NBA.
That was until they came up with their biggest victory of the season.
Corey Maggette scored a game-high 29 points and the Bobcats rallied from 20 down in the second quarter to storm past the visiting Orlando Magic, 100-84, on Tuesday night.
“We’re not having a good season – everyone knows that,” said Maggette, whose team had dropped 21 of their previous 22 games.
“For our team to play and fight tonight was a positive for us.”
Gerald Henderson netted 16 points, while rookie Bismack Biyombo had 10 points, a career-best 15 boards and seven blocked shots as the Bobcats (5-31), earned their first victory against a team with a .500 or better record.
Dwight Howard had 15 points with 17 rebounds while Ryan Anderson and JJ Redick chipped in 14 points apiece for the Magic (25-15), who had won five of seven but were outscored 28-13 in the final stanza.
Elsewhere Miami Heat had a 108-78 win over New Jersey Nets. LeBron James tossed in 21 points, Chris Bosh had 20 in his return after missing the past three contests due to the death of his grandmother, and the Heat stopped a modest two-game slide by crushing the Nets for their 10th consecutive home win.
Deron Williams, coming off a NBA season-high 57 points on Sunday against Charlotte, scored 16 for the Nets, who have lost 10 straight meetings in the series.
In Detroit, the Pistons had an 88-85 win over the Lakers in overtime. Rodney Stuckey scored 34 points, including two free throws with 37 seconds left in overtime and the Pistons escaped the visiting Lakers, when Kobe Bryant missed a potential game-tying three-pointer in the closing seconds.
Andrew Bynum led the Lakers with a season-high 30 points and 14 rebounds while Bryant scored 22, including a buzzer-beating jumper in regulation to force the extra session.
In other results: Dallas Mavericks scored a 95-85 win over New York Knicks, Boston Celtics edged Houston Rockets 97-92 in overtime and Atlanta Hawks were too good for Indiana Pacers 101-96.
