Bobcats win rare road game, top Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Playing on the road is getting a little

better for the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Bobcats beat the Utah Jazz 104-89 Wednesday night, winning

for just the sixth time away from home this season and only the

second time against a Western Conference team.

"I think everybody had a good rhythm tonight. We wanted to

continue to attack the basket," said Brevin Knight, who had 19

points and 10 assists for the Bobcats. "Sometimes we tend to get

away from what gets us leads and not play as hard."

Not this time.

The only time the Bobcats trailed was early in the first quarter

and Charlotte controlled nearly all of the second half while

improving to 2-0 all-time at Utah. One of the Bobcats' four road

wins last season, their first in the NBA, was here on Feb. 1, 2005.

Charlotte didn't have Emeka Okafor (sprained ankle) this time,

but did just fine without him. All five Charlotte starters scored

in double figures and the Bobcats shot 52 percent (36-for-69) from

the floor.

Gerald Wallace also had 19 points, Primoz Brezec added 16 and

Jumaine Jones and Raymond Felton scored 11 apiece for the Bobcats,

who had the worst record in the league entering Wednesday.

"The balance was really good. They shared the basketball and

that is what you really have to do against Utah because they play

really good team defense," Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff

said. "I thought down the stretch our patience was really good. We

didn't panic."

The Jazz were without Andrei Kirilenko (back spasms) and did

little to help themselves overcome his absence. Utah was just

18-of-30 from the free throw line, struggling for the second

straight game and missing a chance to keep pace with Denver in the

Northwest Division.

Utah was booed by the home fans through much of the second half

while falling behind by as much as 20.

"I'd boo us, too," said Milt Palacio, who scored 17 off the

bench for Utah. "We can't be up and down. If we're going to make

it (the playoffs) we've got to go from here. We can't lose games

like this."

Matt Harpring led the Jazz with 22 points and Deron Williams

finished with 15.

Utah, which is trying to end a two-year playoff drought, hasn't

won back-to-back games since beating Chicago and Minnesota on Feb.

6 and 10. The Jazz fell 3½ games behind Denver in the division.

"We didn't really seem to have any life," Utah coach Jerry

Sloan said.

The Bobcats are a long way from the playoffs, but outplayed the

Jazz all night. Charlotte forced 15 turnovers while committing nine

and had 10 steals to Utah's five. The Bobcats improved to 2-3 on a

six-game road trip, which ends Friday in Dallas.

"Sometimes you get easy shots and that is what gets you going.

That's our formula: Get steals, get easy shots," Knight said.

The Bobcats outscored the Jazz in all four quarters and held

Mehmet Okur to six points and six rebounds. Okur scored 31 in an

overtime win at Charlotte in November.

Charlotte led by 12 when Utah made a slight run in the third

quarter after Sloan got a technical with 7:15 left in the period.

Official Leon Wood was about 10 feet in front of Sloan when he

overheard something the coach said.

Wood called the technical and Sloan immediately jumped from his

seat and took a step toward the court before his assistants

restrained him. It sparked the Jazz, but only slightly, in a 10-4

run. Williams cut the lead to 71-64 with a 3-pointer, then

Charlotte closed the period on a 10-3 run and led 81-67 entering

the fourth.

Brezec made back-to-back jumpers and Jake Voskuhl and Matt

Carroll added jumpers from the corner, then Voskuhl ended the

period for Charlotte with a dunk. Utah had a chance to cut into the

lead, but Jarron Collins went 1-for-2 from the line after getting

fouled in the final second.

Utah remained listless in the final period and never made much

of a threat.Game notes
Charlotte was just 4-37 on the road in its first NBA

season. ... The Jazz were just 26-of-42 from the line in an

overtime win at Golden State on Monday. Utah has made 38 of its

last 72 free throws. ... Charlotte was missing Okafor for the 33rd

time in 34 games because of a sprained right ankle.