QUARTER-BY-QUARTER ANALYSIS
First quarter: Charlotte center Primoz Brezec returned to the lineup after missing two games with a left knee bruise. Though the Bobcats were still not completely healthy – Emeka Okafor (left ankle sprain) and Brevin Knight (right ankle sprain) were still out – Brezec’s return gave them a boost from the outset. He scored four points and led both teams with seven rebounds in the opening period, helping the Bobcats to a 14-9 advantage on the boards. Charlotte had a good start, rushing ahead by seven (11-4) on Kareem Rush’s three-pointer. But the surge ended as quickly as it began. The Blazers scored seven straight points to tie the game at 11, triggering a 22-8 run over the quarter’s final seven minutes. Taking advantage of six Charlotte turnovers, converting them into 10 points, they went up by nine at one stage. Joel Przybilla and Ruben Patterson scored nine apiece and Damon Stoudamire eight for Portland, which hit 57.1 percent from the floor. Rush led the Bobcats with five. The score: Blazers 26, Bobcats 19.

Second quarter: The Bobcats spent most of the quarter chasing the Blazers, though usually only by margins of three to six points. Finally, with 4:40 remaining, Gerald Wallace’s layup lifted Charlotte into a 36-36 tie. Jason Hart hit a three-pointer off a Smith assists, then followed with a fast break layup and the Bobcats went ahead by three with 3:22 left. But the Bobcats failed to score the rest of the way while the Blazers ran off seven straight points, taking a 45-41 halftime lead despite Charlotte’s domination of the boards (29-18). Sixteen of the Bobcats’ rebounds came on the offensive end, though the team’s 36.2 percent shooting made the total less effective than it might have been. Portland, led by Przybilla with 14 points, shot 51.4 percent. Hart had nine points and two steals to lead the Bobcats.

Third quarter: Portland, trying to avoid a fourth consecutive loss, moved its lead to five, 55-50, on another Przybilla score underneath with 7:49 remaining. There was no reason to expect a sudden turn but the Bobcats provided one when Brezec grabbed an offensive rebound for a layup and Wallace followed with a drive for a basket. That sent the Bobcats off on a 12-0 spree in a span of about three minutes with their transition game playing a major role in the surge. Steals by Keith Bogans and Wallace produced fast break baskets by Hart and Wallace, and moments later Wallace grabbed a loose ball and raced in for another field goal. When Bogans hit a baseline jumper moments later Charlotte was in front by seven, 60-55. The Blazers fought back with an 8-0 run for a one-point lead of their own. Theron Smith’s score put the Bobcats back on top 64-63 at the end of the period.

Fourth quarter: The fast-paced production slowed significantly in the opening minutes of the final quarter. With 5:30 left the Blazers edged ahead by five again, 71-66. Then Wallace hit a jumper from the wing and Brezec followed with a baseline shot to pull Charlotte within one, 71-70, with 3:25 to play. The margin was still at one, with the Bobcats trailing, as the game turned into the closing seconds. Charlotte had one chance to move ahead with 37.8 seconds remaining but Hart’s 16-foot jumper missed the mark. On the ensuing play Blazers point guard Damon Stoudamire, dribbling on the left wing, spotted Darius Miles breaking up the baseline and hit him with a pass for a dunk and a 77-74 Portland lead. The Bobcats took a timeout at 0:15, then returned to the court looking for a score. They got it, in a big way. Jason Kapono spotted up on the left wing, took a pass from Hart and rifled in a tying three-pointer with 9.9 seconds left. The potential celebration was wiped out moments later. The Blazers got the ball to Nick Van Exel on the left wing and his three-point attempt fell through the basket as the horn sounded, giving Portland an 80-77 victory. It was the second night in a row that the Bobcats fell on a buzzer-beating shot: Tim Thomas’ high-bouncing three-pointer dropped through on Sunday night, giving New York a 102-99 victory over Charlotte.

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GM & HEAD COACH BERNIE BICKERSTAFF SAYS...
(on the Portland’s winning basket) We had a breakdown (defensively) there where we made a bad decision. We had everybody locked up but we made a bad decision and left (Nick) Van Exel. He did what the pros do and knocked it down…We went to work defensively. The guy made a heck of a shot. That was a little better than the one last night (Sunday night in a similar situation in New York).

(on the play and Jason Kapono’s shot that tied the game at 77) IJason (Hart) was supposed to make a play, to get our shooters open or go in and score and then we’d foul if we got two. We were looking for a two or a three. We ran the ‘open,’ as we call it. Primo (Brezec) drove the lane and if he didn’t have it Jason was supposed to get it and create. We had our shooters on the wing. He did an exceptional job. That’s a part of the play. He did a nice job of recognizing it and Kapono did a nice job of putting it in the hole, but it’s moot.”

(on other factors that could have made a difference) I talked to you guys earlier in the year, you don’t necessarily have to put the ball in the basket to make winning plays. There were possessions there that we just didn’t get that could have been the thing that turned the game around. That was one thing John Havlicek said all the time. You have to play every possession as if that possession could be the turning point in the game. Sometimes we assume our teammates are going to get it and we don’t go get it. There have been critical situations that if we come up with the possession the game could turn in that situation. .

(on the sting of close losses compared to blowouts) I can get over those (blowouts) but what you do in these situations is analyze every possession. We just keep playing, that’s the way we are. We’ll hurt tonight. Tomorrow’s another day. You really have something you can build on because the guys know that we’re just a possession away. A lot of it’s on us in terms of having success.

(on the Bobcats’ play in the fourth quarter) They really put themselves in position to finish. I think what’s important is that you put yourself in a position to win and this basketball team is doing that. If you remember two or three weeks ago, that’s what we were concerned about, the fourth quarter. Now we are putting ourselves in position to win. We have to make plays.

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INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM

MELVIN ELY
(on the game and the last play) Tonight was just one of those games where we were trying to come off with a last second shot just like in New York. We just came out and played hard but the bad luck bug just bit us twice…I thought the best they could get was a rush shot at the end. All I tried to do was box-out my man and wait for the long rebound. To see that thing go through the net was as heartbreaking as it can get.

(on the difference between Sunday’s game and tonight’s game) Last night’s loss hurt and tonight hurt even worse. To play that hard and for the game to come down the way it did and not through the course of the game is tough.

GERALD WALLACE
(on Nick Van Exel’s winning shot) It’s just like that sometimes – not once, but twice, in two days. It takes a lot out of you. In losses like that you can’t drop your head, but you definitely can’t hold it up, either.

PRIMOZ BREZEC
(on the game and regrouping to play Denver on Wednesday) We played hard but we just have no luck. It was the last possession and Bernard Robinson played some great defense…It’s tough (to regroup). The guys really led with their hearts this time. The Denver guys are playing good basketball right now under coach George Karl.

(on the disappointing loss) I think today we played for 48 minutes like we needed to. But I think that we were just unlucky. Both of us really played hard. Last night (in New York) we were able to come back after a 10-point lead and Bernard Robinson had a great game but we just had no luck.