Boxscore from ESPN.com
Score: 107-90 Atlanta
The fill-in starters got blitzed: With Vladimir Radmanovic and Nazr Mohammed taking Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler's places, the best +/- mark for the starters: -15 for Nazr and Vlad took the lowest mark at -20. Aside from that Nazr, put up respectable numbers, with 8 points and 9 rebounds in 26 minutes, though he only shot 3 of 7 from the floor and turned it over twice. Vlad had numbers that seemed more fitting of such a rough night, with 4 points on 1 of 5 shooting, 3 rebounds, and 2 turnovers.
To the positive: 3 Bobcats finished in double figures, with Gerald Wallace leading the way with 20 points. Gerald was also 12-12 of the free throw line, so that may have been a replacement ref boost. And speaking of the replacement refs...well, I will let Bret at Hoopinion describe the scene:
Much worse: Larry got his 2nd T from Kevin Scott, who never got within 35 feet of Brown before, during, or after the call. Brown tried to engage any of the refs on the occasion of his ejection but none would speak with or possibly even look at him. Rather than deal with the issue directly, Scott walked to the opposite end of the court and appeared to attempt to enlist a befuddled police officer in asking/making Brown leave the court.See the rest of the Hoopinion coverage here: Hoopinion: Hawks 107 Bobcats 90. I do not have much to add to that, other than we are halfway through the pre-season, and I am still hesitant to believe the replacement refs are ready for the NBA.
Back to the good news, with the other 2 players in double figures: Gerald Henderson had 13 in 21 minutes, on 4-6 from the floor and 5-5 from the free throw line. Henderson also chipped in 4 rebounds and an assist, so a solid performance for the rookie. Raymond Felton was the last of the Bobcats in double figures, with 11 on 4-9 shooting. He tied for the team lead in assists for the night with 4, but also had 3 turnovers.
Without having run the numbers for the game, I can not be sure who it came against, but Jeff Teague lit someone up. 17 points for the rookie from Wake Forest in just 29 minutes. D.J. played just 9 minutes, with Dontell Jefferson getting 15 and Raymond 28 - but, again, being pre-season, I do not have the numbers for this game, so if someone listened and got a feel, chime in with a comment.
After relatively gushing about Alexis Ajinca after the last game, he came back down to Earth last night, with 7 points (3 of 5 fg, 1 of 1 ft), 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, and 6 fouls in just 14 minutes. While it was not a record-setting performance, 6 fouls in 14 minutes is quite impressive - and then I remember the refs handling of the Larry Brown technicals and I give Alexis the benefit of the doubt. His other numbers were decent for limited action and his shooting percentage continues to be solid - there may be something there.
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