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Wallace, Bobcats rally past Nets 79-68

Updated: 2009-11-04 10:43

 

CHARLOTTE, NC: Just when you thought nobody could match the Charlotte Bobcats' offensive ineptitude, the New Jersey Nets one-upped them.

Try more than 10 minutes without a point and nearly 11 1/2 without a field goal. Add in another key injury and another deflating loss and the Nets' season is already in a freefall.

Gerald Wallace had 24 points and a career-high 20 rebounds and the Bobcats - the NBA's lowest-scoring team - overcame their horrible first half by being just a little better with the ball than the winless Nets in their 79-68 victory on Monday night.

"It was embarrassing," guard Rafer Alston said after the Nets fell to 0-4. "Offensively, we have to do it together."

The Nets went 0 for 11 from the field with nine turnovers in Charlotte's 24-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters in the longest scoring drought in the NBA in nearly four years. It turned a once 14-point Nets cushion into a comfortable 63-51 Charlotte lead with 8:38 left.

To make matters worse, the Nets lost forward Yi Jianlian during the drought when a falling Wallace rolled into his right knee. He'll undergo an MRI on Tuesday (today Beijing time) to determine the damage to the medial collateral ligament while All-Star Devin Harris was in Chicago on Monday getting a second opinion on his strained groin.

Coach Lawrence Frank called the injury a sprain, but said Yi will need an MRI to determine its severity.

About the broadcaster:

Chantal Anderson is a multimedia journalist at the China Daily Web site. Originally from Seattle, Washington she has found her way around the world doing photo essays in Greece, Mexico and Thailand. She is currently completing a double degree in Journalism and International Studies from the University of Washington.