Thank goodness for my ticket connections—otherwise I probably would've spent Friday night going to see I Am Legend or something.As it was, it was a good night to be in the Bobcats Arena. All fans attending the game received Bobcats rally flags as they entered the building.
Michael Jordan, Jalen Rose, and Stephen A. Smith were in the house as the Bobcats faced the Orlando Magic.
One hour prior to the game, Charlotte traded two of their big men—Primoz Brezec and Walter Hermann—to Detroit for Nazr Mohammed, which left the Cats shorthanded against Orlando center Dwight Howard.
Howard was the primary reason I chose to get tickets for the game. He's always dominated in Charlotte, and Friday was no different.
It was exciting to watch the man-child live, as he scored 33 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.
The two top picks of the 2004 Draft—Howard and Emeka Okafor—went head-to-head in this one. Howard dominated.
Howard's nasty dunks drew oohs and ahhs from the stands. On the whole, the crowd was almost as loud as it had been at a Charlotte Hornets playoff game against New Jersey I attended a few years back—at least in the first half.
The second half was a different story.
The Bobcats were up by as many as 13 in the third quarter, but Howard went off for 20 of his 33 points in the second half.
Hedo Turkoglu hit two straight shots from behind the arc, and it was all downhill from there.
Orlando outscored Charlotte 34-9 at one point, which was almost pathetic to watch.
The fourth quarter was no better, as the crowd started to clear out with about five minutes left in the game.
The final score was 103-87.
Although he shot 8-13 from the field and 3-7 from behind the arc, it seemed like Turkoglu couldn't miss on his way to 22 points.
Rashard Lewis, though, was awful, shooting 3-11 for 13 points.
Gerald Wallace and Raymond Felton were the only two guys worth watching for Charlotte. Wallace went 6-19 and scored 16 points, while Felton scored 18.
Okafor and Jason Richardson also scored in double figures—but their performances were dull.
Charlotte shot better than 50 percent in the first half for only the second time this season, shooting 56 percent. The Bobcats ended up shooting 45 percent for the game.
Orlando shot 53 percent for the game.
The Magic snapped a three-game skid and improved to 16-7 overall and 12-3 on the road.
Charlotte is now 8-13 with a 7-6 home record.
The Bobcats play their next home game Wednesday December 19th against the Utah Jazz. I'll most likely be back to check out Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and one of my all-time favorites coaches, Jerry Sloan.
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