CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Raja Bell scored 25 points, Emeka Okafor added 20 points and 15 rebounds and the Charlotte Bobcats continued their improved play in a 101-86 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
Raymond Felton scored 19 points and Gerald Wallace had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats, who have won four of five games and 10 of 17 following a trade that brought Bell and Boris Diaw from Phoenix.
They had to work to send the Grizzlies to their seventh straight loss, finally pulling away in the fourth quarter despite Rudy Gay’s 26 points.
Gay got little help, as O.J. Mayo was held to 13 points — six below his average — and Memphis couldn’t overcome 21 turnovers in falling to 2-16 on the road.
Bell scored all of his points through three quarters, the second straight game he tallied 25 as he becomes a more consistent offensive threat in Charlotte’s new look under first-year coach Larry Brown.
With Bell consistently hitting mid-range jumpers and Okafor getting plenty of looks inside, the Bobcats shot 50 percent and dominated the glass, 44-28.
Bell was averaging 9.6 points when he was traded by Phoenix last month, his lowest scoring output in four seasons with the Suns, who had changed coaches and philosophy with the arrival of Shaquille O’Neal.
Charlotte also got Diaw in the deal that sent top scorer Jason Richardson out west and brought questions of who would get the majority of shots for the NBA’s lowest-scoring team.
But Diaw and Bell have helped Charlotte reshape its offense. Diaw added eight rebounds and seven assists as the Bobcats completed a season sweep of the lowly Grizzlies.
Memphis, which has dropped 15 of 17 games, kept it close for most of the game. The Grizzlies rallied from a 10-point first-quarter deficit to take a 52-51 lead on Gay’s jumper early in the third quarter.
Memphis trailed 70-66 early in the fourth quarter, but the miscues — poor passes, failed alley-oops and Charlotte’s second-chance points — eventually doomed Memphis.
Wallace’s steal and dunk on Hakim Warrick’s turnover put Charlotte ahead 88-79 with 4:11 left. Felton’s two free throws less than a minute later put it away.
That spoiled Gay’s return to form. After averaging 10 points on 13 of 39 shooting in the past three games, Gay hit 10 of 15 shots.
Notes: Bobcats PG D.J. Augustin (abdominal strain) did some
running Wednesday and said he hopes to return Sunday at Indiana. … Brown, who has refused to play F Sean May until he gets to 260 pounds, said May is getting close to making weight. … Grizzlies coach Marc Ivaroni said they didn’t hesitate to sign F Darius Miles to a second 10-day contract in his return from major knee surgery. “We felt he was playing with a lot of energy. His conditioning had picked up,” Ivaroni said. “We felt he was the best alternative.” … Grizzlies F Quinton Ross (back spasms) missed his fourth straight game, but could return Friday at New York.
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