NBA: Bobcats win in OT against Bulls, give Raptors third seed in the East

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Guard Kemba Walker scored 22 points, including eight in overtime, as the Charlotte Bobcats outlasted the Chicago Bulls 91-86 Wednesday night (Thursday, PHL time) in the regular-season finale.

The Bobcats scored the first four points of overtime and went on to outscore the Bulls 11-6 in the extra session. Charlotte led by as much as nine in overtime.
 
After the win, the Bobcats (43-39) await the outcome of the Washington Wizards-Boston Celtics game to find out their Eastern Conference playoff seeding. They would finish No. 6 with a Boston win, No. 7 with a Washington win.

The Bobcats won their final three regular-season games and eight of their last nine.

With the loss, the Bulls (48-34) were assured of the East's No. 4 spot. They went into the game with hopes of overtaking the Toronto Raptors for No. 3.

The Bobcats got 13 points from forward Chris Douglas-Roberts, 11 points from guard Gerald Henderson, and 10 points and 18 rebounds from center Al Jefferson.

Guard D.J. Augustin led Chicago with 17 points. Center Joakim Noah had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and forward Carlos Boozer had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Jimmy Butler and forward Mike Dunleavy scored 12 each.

Chicago led 21-16 after one quarter and pushed the lead to 10 early in the second, but the Bobcats fought back to take a 43-39 halftime lead. Chicago then led 60-59 after three quarters.

Walker's two free throws with 35.9 seconds left in regulation tied the score 80-80, and then both teams squandered chances to win in the closing seconds. Forward Taj Gibson missed a jumper from the side on Chicago's final possession, and Walker missed a 20-footer at the regulation buzzer. - Reuters


The scores:

BOBCATS 91 - Walker 22, Douglas-Roberts 13, Henderson 11, Jefferson 10, Kidd-Gilchrist 8, Zeller 8, McRoberts 7, Neal 5, Biyombo 4, Ridnour 3

BULLS 86 - Augustin 17, Boozer 14, Noah 14, Dunleavy 12, Butler 12, Hinrich 11, Gibson 4, Mohammed 2, Snell 0

Charlotte    16-27-16-21-11
Chicago      21-18-21-20-6