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PORTLAND, Ore. – Boris Diaw’s two second-half air balls left no doubt: These Charlotte Bobcats were exhausted.
Why wouldn’t they be? The night before they’d survived double-overtime to beat the Los Angeles Lakers, then hopped on a 2 1/2-hour charter flight with co-captain Gerald Wallace back in a Los Angeles hospital.
Wallace’s broken rib and collapsed lung should keep him out for weeks, and this 88-74 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers showed how much they’ll miss him.
Former Gonzaga star Adam Morrison started in Wallace’s place, playing before friends and family from around the Northwest. But he had little impact, scoring two points in the first half when this game was essentially decided.
The loss broke a three-game winning streak for the Bobcats over the Trail Blazers. Charlotte is 19-27 (1-2 on this five-game trip), while the Blazers improved to 28-17.
Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 25 points, while rookie center Greg Oden finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Emeka Okafor scored 18 for the Bobcats.
Rebounding was as good an indicator as any Wednesday: The Blazers finished with 45 boards to the Bobcats’ 26.
The fatigue from Tuesday’s effort against the Lakers became apparent quickly.
Down a point with three minutes left in the first quarter, the Bobcats all seemed to hit a wall at once, failing to score off eight straight possessions. In that span they missed seven straight shots and never grabbed in an offensive rebound.
By the time backup forward Juwan Howard stopped the run with two free throws, the Trail Blazers led 36-18 on Travis Outlaw’s 20-foot jump shot. Aldridge did much of the damage early, but rookie point guard Jerryd Bayless came off the bench for five quick points, including a layup at the buzzer over Bobcats 7-footer Gana Diop.
The Bobcats trailed by 16 at halftime, and were that close only because Okafor held up the scoring with 12 points, mostly off dunks. But the defense looked puny, with the Blazers shooting 55 percent in the first half and outrebounding the Bobcats 23-11. The Bobcats get a much-needed day off today before Friday’s road game against the Denver Nuggets. The five-game road trip concludes Monday in Salt Lake City versus the Utah
