QUARTER-BY-QUARTER ANALYSIS
First quarter: The Bobcats got off to a slow start in their first-ever appearance at the Rose Garden missing five of their first six shots to start the game. Portland meanwhile came out hot, making four out of six shots to build an early 9-2 lead over visiting Charlotte. Capitalizing on three turnovers and two missed shots by the Blazers, the Bobcats were able to overcome the deficit with a 10-0 run and build a three point advantage. Charlotte could not sustain the lead, however as they missed six consecutive shots and committed two turnovers, enabling the Blazers to go on an 11-0 run and build a 27-20 advantage late in the first quarter. A jump shot by Jason Hart with 32 seconds left in the quarter ended the field goal drought and pulled the Bobcats to within five (27-22) at the end of one. In the first quarter, the Bobcats shot 37.5 percent from the field compared to 50 percent by the Blazers

Second quarter: Charlotte's struggles from the field continued, as they missed 10 consecutive field goals to start the second quarter . On Portland's end, Sebastian Telfair scored five quick points and Darius Miles added a free throw to help the Blazers extend their lead to 11. Down by eight with 4:11 left in the half, the Bobcats, aided by five points from Primoz Brezec, used a 7-2 run to cut the lead to three (42-39). Portland responded, outscoring Charlotte 5-1 in the final 1:37 of the half to take a 47-40 lead into the break.

Third quarter: The Blazers bumped their lead to nine in the opening minutes of the third quarter, before going cold from the field and missing eight of their next nine shots. The Bobcats took advantage of Portland's miscues to go on a 10-2 run and cut the lead to 1 (51-50) with 6:11 left in the period. Portland did not stay cold for long, as Damon Stoudamire and Zach Randolph each scored six points over the next 2:36 to help the Blazers build their lead back up to 10. The Blazers extended their lead and ended the third quarter leading 68-55.

Fourth quarter: In the early minutes of the fourth quarter, Portland continued to build on their lead. Rookie Sebastian Telfair sank two free throws at the 9:30 mark to give the Blazers a 16-point edge, their biggest of the night. The Bobcats refused to go away however. Behind strong contributions from both Theron and Steve Smith, the Bobcats outscored the Blazers 18-6 over the next 5:07 to pull within 4 (81-77). They could get no closer as the Blazers responded with an 9-2 run, capped by three free throws from Telfair, to build their lead back to 11 with 2:25 left in the game. Damon Stoudamire connected on six consecutive free throws in the game's final 48 seconds to help clinch the victory for Portland. Stoudamire finished with 23 points as did Telfair, who scored 14 in the fourth quarter alone. Primoz Brezec paced Charlotte with 17 points and a career-best 17 rebounds. Melvin Ely also had a strong showing for the Bobcats with a career-high 16 point performance. For the game, the Bobcats shot just 36.6 percent from the field compared to 42.9 percent for the Blazers.

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GM & HEAD COACH BERNIE BICKERSTAFF SAYS...
(on the game) “In the first half, we had a lead, went to the bench, the lead dissipated. We didn’t shoot free throws well, we shot 35 percent, and we only got that up to 36 percent in the second half. We didn’t convert off of turnovers, we didn’t convert off fast breaks, Portland made some big shots. Telfair got into the paint and created some havoc. We went to a zone. It got us back in it a little bit, then it got us back out of it. The game was there, but we didn’t take it.”

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INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM

KAREEM RUSH
(on Sebastian Telfair) (On Telfair) “He’s going to be good. He came in here and had a good game. If he keeps working, he’s just going to get better.”

STEVE SMITH
(On coming back to Portland) “It’s good. I like coming back, the fans are great.”

MELVIN ELY
(On Telfair’s play in game) “Good players do good things down the stretch. He hit some big shots down there. if it wasn’t for that, we’d have been right in it.”