Wallace, Felton help Bobcats avoid collapse, beat Kings 105-103 for 5th straight win

Bobcats hold off Kings 105-103, win 5th straight

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Gerald Wallace shook off an ankle injury to score 28 points, Raymond Felton finished a rebound shy of a triple-double and the Charlotte Bobcats held off a furious Sacramento comeback bid to beat the Kings 105-103 on Monday.

The Bobcats’ fifth straight win and eighth in a row at home proved more difficult than expected.

The Kings, who rallied from a 35-point deficit to win in Chicago last month, nearly pulled off a similar feat. Charlotte led 82-58 with 4 minutes left in the third quarter before Tyreke Evans helped the Kings get within a point.

But Felton made some key baskets to put Charlotte above .500 this late in a season for the first time in team history.

Evans continued his sensational rookie season, scoring 14 of his career-high 34 points in the fourth quarter for the Kings, who have lost four straight.

Charlotte (20-19) moved into a tie with idle Miami and Toronto for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Previously, the latest the Bobcats had been over .500 was at 6-5 early in Sam Vincent’s only season as coach in 2007-08.

Early on, this one looked similar to Saturday’s rout of Phoenix. Wallace, selected earlier Monday to compete in the NBA slam dunk competition during All-Star weekend, warmed up for it with a windmill dunk to close a dominant first half as Charlotte took a 66-47 lead.

Wallace hit 13 of 15 free throws and was dominating the lifeless Kings until the momentum switched late in the third quarter.

When Wallace twisted his left ankle early in the fourth, the speedy Evans had already taken over the game.

His fadeaway with 4:51 left completed a 32-9 run and got the Kings within 91-90. After Wallace returned, Charlotte built the lead to five before Evans’ three-point play cut it to 100-98.

The Kings then missed three straight shots that would’ve tied the game before Felton’s runner put the Bobcats ahead 102-98 with 1:01 left.

Evans scored again in traffic, but Felton hit two free throws with 20.7 seconds left. After Beno Udrih’s 3-pointer cut the lead to one, Flip Murray was fouled with 1 second left.

He hit the first shot, missed the second and Charlotte’s Boris Diaw grabbed the rebound to preserve the victory.

Felton had 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Stephen Jackson was held to 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting amid foul trouble.

Evans, the NBA’s top scoring rookie, hit 13 of 20 shots and eight of 11 free throws while adding seven assists. Kevin Martin was held to nine points on 3-of-9 shooting as Sacramento lost for the 11th time in 13 games.

Charlotte’s Bob Johnson, the first black majority owner of a major professional sports team, has always requested a home game on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. But despite the recent stretch of good play, there were thousands of empty seats as Charlotte improved to 17-4 at home.

NOTES: Wallace last competed in the dunk competition in 2002, losing in the final to Jason Richardson. It didn’t make it must-see TV for him. “The last one I watched was the one with Vince Carter (in 2000),” Wallace said. … Kings F and former Bobcats first-round pick Sean May was inactive for the third straight game. He last played Dec. 12. “It’s tough and it’s a challenge, but the one thing I can say is I’m finally healthy,” he said. … May was asked about his one year with Bobcats coach Larry Brown: “He’s a great coach, but we just didn’t mesh well.” … A smoky charbroiler on the concourse set off the fire alarm about 2 hours before tip-off.