Bobcats Again Defeat the Pistons, Hawks Extend Losing Streak to Seven

As teams and players await last-minute trades, it’s still business as usual with the NBA’s full schedule of games.

On Wednesday night, the Charlotte Bobcats (25-30) again played the Detroit Pistons (22-32) and won 116-98. This came after their first win on Tuesday over Detroit, 108-96. With their second victory, the Bobcats remain in the eighth spot for the Eastern Conference and can breathe a little easier as they sit 2 1/2 games ahead of the Pistons. They have also now swept the Pistons for the season after a Dec.20 116-106 win.

Al Jefferson

Al Jefferson dominated Detroit with his play, including 29 points (12 in the third quarter) on Wednesday. This followed Tuesday’s performance where he scored 32 points, 12 rebounds with seven assists. Kemba Walker added 24 points (nine in the fourth quarter) with 16 assists–a career high in this third game. With these numbers, it’s a first in team history for a Bobcats player to achieve them in the same game, according to ESPN Stats.

Walker said of his team’s sweep of the Pistons via the Associated Press, “We had a bad reputation around this league for a long time, at least since I’ve been here. Coach (Steve Clifford) has done a great job of changing the culture. We just want to win. We don’t want to be those Bobcats where guys come in here and beat us up every night.”

Also contributing to the win was Josh McRoberts with 15 points while Ramon Sessions exited the bench and added 10 points and 10 assists.

For the Pistons, they have lost both games since returning from the break and their last nine of 14. Brandon Jennings got 20 points for his team on Wednesday but with 1:13 remaining in the game, he got ejected after grabbing a second technical foul for the night.

Josh Smith added 14 points and four rebounds.

The Bobcats will look to keep their momentum going against the New Orleans Pelicans (23-30) on Friday. Charlotte sits at 500/1 to win the 2014 NBA Championship.

Meanwhile, Detroit will look to snap its three-game losing streak against the imploding Atlanta Hawks (25-28) on Friday. The Pistons sit at 200/1 to win this year’s Championship.

Speaking of the Hawks, their play is even worse than Detroit’s as they’ve lost seven straight games but still remain ahead of the Bobcats in the seventh spot for the Eastern Conference. Atlanta’s most recent loss came on Wednesday against the Washington Wizards (26-28), 114-97.

Will they try to stop the skid with some new talent? Jeff Teague has been the topic of trade rumors as well as conversations have allegedly ensued between the team and the Los Angeles Lakers for a Jordan Hill and Chris Kaman trade.

Paul Millsap

Battling injuries have contributed to the Hawks’ poor play and on Wednesday, Elton Brand started at center as Gustavo Ayon again sat out with a hurt shoulder; he contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds while Paul Millsap led in scoring with 21 points and also 11 rebounds.

The Hawks seemed poised for a possible win as they had a third-quarter surge, cutting a first-half 20-point deficit to come within one. The Wizards shot two 3-pointers to end their run to take a lead at the start of the final quarter.

This proved to be a difference maker for the night as the Wizards had 54.2 percent 3-point shooting.

John Wall led in scoring for the Wizards with his 21 points, five rebounds and 12 assists while Trevor Ariza and Bradley Beal each contributed 19 points. With the win, Washington ended a streak of three straight losses and 11 straight in Atlanta. Their last win at Philips Arena came on Jan. 11, 2008.

The Wizards now sit in the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference and have 100/1 odds to win the 2014 NBA Championship.

The Hawks, looking for a win against Detroit, sit at 100/1 as well to win this year’s Championship.