D.J. Augustin scored 12 of his 16 points in the final seven-plus minutes as the Charlotte Bobcats rallied for a 108-105 victory over the host Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
Tyrus Thomas had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte (12-21), which ended a nine-game road losing streak dating to Nov. 12 and notched the 200th winj in franchise history. The Bobcats swept the season series, pulling off fourth-quarter comebacks in both games.
Charlotte trailed by eight points with under three minutes to play in regulation before Augustin - 1-of-12 from the field to that point - scored eight points on two 3-pointers and two free throws to forge a 95-95 tie with 54 seconds left.
Eduardo Najera put home his own miss with 2:11 left to give Charlotte the lead for good at 104-102. The Bobcats stretched the lead to six on Augustin’s hoop with 1:16 to play and survived a potential tying 3-pointer by Michael Beasley at the buzzer.
Kevin Love had 35 points and 15 rebounds and Beasley added 28 and 12 for Minnesota (9-27), which overcame a 14-point halftime deficit by outscoring Charlotte, 30-14, in the third quarter.
Boris Diaw had 16 points and seven assists and Kwame Brown grabbed 14 rebounds for the Bobcats, who were without their top two scores. Leading scorer Stephen Jackson was sidelined with a knee injury and Gerald Wallace missed the game with an ankle injury.
Charlotte | Minnesota | |
Tyrus Thomas 21 | Scoring | Kevin Love 35 |
D.J. Augustin 8 | Assists | Kevin Love 5 |
Kwame Brown 14 | Rebounds | Kevin Love 15 |
D.J. Augustin 6 | Free Throws Made | Kevin Love 10 |
Kwame Brown 1 | Steals | Michael Beasley 1 |
Tyrus Thomas 2 | Blocks | Corey Brewer 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Charlotte | 108 | 43.9 | 8-26 | 14-24 | 25 | 51 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
Minnesota | 105 | 44.7 | 10-25 | 19-30 | 19 | 53 | 7 | 6 | 16 |