LOS ANGELES — Emeka Okafor had 28 points and nine rebounds, Raja Bell scored nine of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, and the Charlotte Bobcats beat the Los Angeles Clippers 100-95 on Saturday night for their third straight victory.
The Bobcats, who entered the NBA in 2004-05, beat the Clippers for the fourth straight time after losing the first six meetings. Okafor made 11 of 17 shots, while Boris Diaw added 15 points.
The Bobcats have won three straight for just the second time this season and the first time since Jan. 7, when they beat Portland after road wins against Washington and Detroit.
They began this five-game trip with losses to Houston and Phoenix, then rebounded with wins over Sacramento and Golden State before vanquishing the Clippers with a strong third quarter in which they outscored them 34-20.
Zach Randolph had 33 points and nine rebounds for Los Angeles, coming off a 98-86 loss at Sacramento that followed Wednesday’s stunning 93-91 upset of the NBA champion Boston Celtics.
The Bobcats were leading 92-89 when Okafor was fouled by Marcus Camby on a driving layup and crashed to the floor holding his right ankle. He limped to the bench under his own power, then returned following a timeout to complete the three-point play with 3:16 remaining.
The Clippers got within 95-93 after Randolph converted his offensive rebound of Baron Davis’ missed 3-pointer into a layup with 2:03 to play, but Bell answered with a 3 27 seconds later.
Randolph’s 16-footer cut it to 98-95 before Okafor missed a hook shot at the other end. But Al Thornton missed a 3-point attempt that would have tied it with 4 seconds on the clock. Okafor got the rebound and cinched it with two free throws.
Diaw, along with Orlando’s Jameer Nelson the only two players shooting at least 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range, was 7-for-15 against the Clippers. His 3 in the first quarter gave him 51 for the season, equaling the combined total in his previous five NBA seasons.
The Clippers, missing rookie point guard Eric Gordon for the second straight game because of a bruised left shoulder, used their 25th different starting lineup with swingman Ricky Davis starting at shooting guard. Davis was 1-for-5 from the field and scored five points.
After ending the first quarter with a 7-0 run that gave them a 29-17 lead, the Clippers led by as many as 15 in the second. Charlotte sliced the margin to 51-45 by halftime and took the lead for good at 64-41 on Bell’s 3-pointer with 5:08 left in the third.
Bobcats point guard Raymond Felton, who scored 26 points in Friday’s 112-109 win over the Warriors, went to the bench after picking up his second foul with 7:44 left in the first quarter. He didn’t report back in until the start of the third, finishing with nine points and seven assists in 24-plus minutes.<
Notes:@ Charlotte is 7-10 this season against the eight other NBA teams Brown has coached. There are eight such games remaining. The total makes up 30.5 percent of the Bobcats’ schedule. … The Bobcats are 5-16 in games decided by five points or fewer, including five losses in a nine-game stretch during December. Had they won half of those 16 games they lost, they would be six games over .500 instead of 10 games under. … Only three coaches have guided the Clippers to the playoffs since the team moved to Los Angeles in 1984 — Brown, Bill Fitch and current coach Mike Dunleavy..
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