QUARTER-BY-QUARTER ANALYSIS
First quarter: The Bobcats, continuing to work with a makeshift lineup with starters Kareem Rush and Gerald Wallace out with injuries, started slowly. They shot poorly in the opening minutes while the Lakers, trying to build momentum for a late-season playoff bid, hit almost everything they put up, making seven of their first eight shots. That sent Los Angeles rushing to a nine-point lead before Charlotte finally settled in and made a run of its own, this one by 11-1 over a span of 3:34. The push created a 23-23 tie with 1:47 to play, before the Lakers eased back in front 27-25 at the end of the period.

Second quarter: The bench provided the punch as the Bobcats significantly elevated their level of play in a game that was rapidly taking on a track meet pace. After momentarily dropping behind by five, they went on a tear with reserve Jason Kapono triggering the turnaround. Kapono hit a three-pointer, then followed on Charlotte’s next possession with a closer wing jumper and moments later added a pair of free throws. Brevin Knight chipped in with two from the line and a jumper. Keith Bogans fired in two three-pointers. Overall the mainstay was starting forward Emeka Okafor, scoring 10 points in the quarter. The fireworks left the Bobcats ahead by 12, 57-45, on a traditional three-point play by Bogans with 3:03 remaining. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, the period wasn’t over – the Lakers closed with a flurry of their own, going on a 12-2 finishing run to reduce Charlotte’s lead to 59-57 at halftime. The Bobcats’ bench scoring advantage over the first two periods was 21-11. Okafor had 15 and Bogans 13 at that stage. Caron Butler had 12 points and Kobe Bryant five assists to lead the Lakers.

Third quarter: The numbers told much of the story: Okafor spun underneath for layups and pulled up on the wing for medium-range jumpers, scoring 10 more points to run his total to 25. Knight ran his assist total to 10 (in 21 minutes). The Bobcats hit 11 of 21 field goal attempts (52.4 percent) and continued to take care of the ball (turning it over only three times through three periods). That kept Charlotte in control through almost all of the period, once by nine points. The Bobcats led 84-81 at the end of the quarter.

Fourth quarter: Recently-acquired Matt Carroll added to Charlotte’s bench explosion, entering the game in the fourth and promptly hitting four of his first five shots as the Coliseum, filled to a capacity of 23,319, turned electric. Charlotte extended its lead to 10 (100-90) on a running layup by Carroll with 7:31 to play. At that point the Bobcats had everything rolling their way, with Knight as the architect. He scored 21 points, matching a season high, and distributed 17 assists while playing 22 minutes without a turnover (the most without a turnover in the NBA this season). Okafor posted a double-double, pouring in a career-high 30 points and gathering 11 rebounds. But the Lakers had a response, with Bryant turning from an early emphasis on passing (nine assists) and looking to score. With Los Angeles down by 10 and 7:08 remaining, Bryant rifled in a three-pointer and ignited a Bryant-Bobcats duel that would continue to the final second. He scored 20 of the Lakers’ final 27 points, hitting 8-of-10 shots in the process (including 3-of-3 from three-point range). The Bobcats, leading all the way through the quarter, nonetheless protected their lead until the finish. They were ahead by one, 116-115, when the Lakers took a timeout with 6.8 seconds to play. When they returned to the court, they immediately got the ball to Bryant, who dribbled to the right wing, then rose with a 20-foot jumper. It dropped with nine-tenths of a second left and, after Knight’s off-balance three-point miss on Charlotte’s ensuing possession, it stood up as the game winner.

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GM & HEAD COACH BERNIE BICKERSTAFF SAYS...
(on the game) I thought both teams played exceptionally well. Some of the shots that Kobe (Bryant) made were just phenomenal. What a terrific effort after coming off of last night (and a loss at Philadelphia) and coming in with the Lakers waiting on you.

(on Kobe Bryant’s 32 points, including 21 in the fourth quarter) Some of the shots that guy made were just unbelievable. He was trying for a foul on a couple of them and there was no foul but he hit nothing but the bottom of the net. There were a couple of balls that we didn’t run down that they ended up setting up a three-pointer down on the wing. But it wasn’t because we weren’t after it. The ball bounced funny in that situation.

(on the Bryant game-winning shot) They should never have gotten the last shot. We didn’t carry out our defensive assignments in terms of switching around on that play to keep him out. Four guys in the wheel did what they were supposed to do, and that basically tells you that if you take one spoke away then you’ve got trouble.

(on Brevin Knight’s final-second shot attempt There was definitely contact (with a defender) but (the official) wasn’t going to call it. There’s an old adage that says, ‘Let the players win it.’ That’s always been the philosophy.

(on the play of recently-acquired Matt Carroll) I thought he played well. He did what we want him to do: catch it and shoot it. But you see what happens. They run at you, so then you go to the basket.

(on the Bobcats’ play) We got contributions from most of our guys tonight…I think the message here is what we’ve been talking about. What you have to understand is, as a team when you’re in the situation that we’re in, you’ve got 12 guys. The guys who play well, they play. I thought the other thing the guys on the bench were doing was they were pulling for their teammates so that’s a positive…That’s the philosophy. If you play well, you play. That should be an incentive. .

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INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM

BREVIN KNIGHT
(on the game) I thought we played very well. We had a couple of uncontested threes that they shot that really hurt us. That’s just a matter of understanding the time situation and knowing what that guy’s (Kobe Bryant’s) strengths are and force them to do something they don’t want to do. But credit our guys. We fought, we hung in there and played a good game. Tonight’s game was just a good game. I don’t think it had anything to do with not playing well in the fourth quarter. The only thing that hurt was, they were making threes and we were making twos. That’s what it came down to. We made baskets but if you keep trading three for two they’re going to continue to get closer.

(on Kobe Bryant) Great players make great plays. In that fourth quarter that’s what he did. He made great plays. He hit big shots and played great defense. That’s why they label those guys great players.

MATT CARROLL
(on his performance) It felt good. My teammates set some great screens for me and Brevin (Knight) is a heck of a passer. He found me at the right time and put the ball right where I needed it. Tonight they were falling.

(on losing a close game) It’s very tough to come down to the wire and just lose at the buzzer like that. It’s heart-breaking because you play so good. Everyone on this team plays so hard with everything they’ve got but you get down to that last play and someone hits a shot and you lose. There’s a fine line between winning and losing in this league and it’s hard to accept sometimes.

KEITH BOGANS
(on Kobe Bryant’s winning shot) I’m thinking (Kobe Bryant) has hit every shot coming down the stretch. I have to contest it. He set me up good. He gave me a nice shot fake, took his time and hit the shot. He turned it up in the fourth quarter. He was playing well throughout the whole game, but he just took it to another level coming down the stretch.