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Memo to Michael Jordan: Wanna beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday? Then direct some really ugly one-liners at Gerald Wallace.
Jordan ragged on Wallace early Wednesday and Wallace took it all out on the Toronto Raptors: Thirty-one points, 13 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. And the team's widest margin of victory ever - Bobcats 116, Raptors 81.
Bobcats managing partner Jordan kept taunting Wallace about missing at the rim early. There was just one way to shut up the boss/tormentor:
"I got mad - M.J. messed with me," Wallace said. "He said I might as well have left my left hand at home."
So Wallace finished 10-of-20 from the field and 11-of-12 from the foul line. It helped that the Raptors (7-9) might have the NBA's worst interior defense.
"Their only big man at the rim is Chris Bosh," Wallace said. "They don't have any shot-blockers."
The Bobcats do have a shot-blocker, even if he's been asleep most of the season. Center Tyson Chandler had his best game with the Bobcats, with six blocks, nine rebounds and five points.
Beyond those six rejections, Chandler must have changed 10 more Raptors shots: Toronto finished with season lows in points and field-goal percentage (34.5percent).
This was Chandler's first game back after missing the past 10 quarters with back spasms. The pity was he'd just started feeling comfortable during the first half of the game in Philadelphia when he hurt his back. So he made sure to remind himself progress had been made.
"That was the first time I felt like myself - in Philly" since the trade, Chandler said. "Today, I felt like myself again."
The 116 points was by far the most for the Bobcats this season. That was less about improved offense and more about attacking defense: Beyond the blocked shots, the Bobcats converted 18 Raptors turnovers into 29 Charlotte points.
New Bobcat Stephen Jackson (23 points, six assists, two steals and a block) had suggested to coach Larry Brown before Sunday's Pacers game that the Bobcats try more aggressively to rake the ball out of opponents' hands. Jackson felt this team had the defensive precision to take those chances to relieve pressure from the half-court offense.
Perfect fix, Wallace said.
"If you're not getting shots out on the break, that makes anybody's offense look bad," Wallace said. "This (forcing midcourt turnovers) put us in a position to do that."
