Bobcats shock Celtics in overtime

The Boston Celtics were on the verge of panic after losing 4 of 6 since their franchise record 19 game winning streak ended in Los Angeles on Christmas Day.  They may now be officially in “full panic mode” after losing for the fifth time in seven contests, this time in overtime to the 13-22 Charlotte Bobcats by a 114-106 score.

Charlotte took a six point lead into the halftime break, but a 3rd quarter rally brought the Celtics back.  They were unable to hold the lead, however, and the game went to overtime where the Bobcats are now 3-1 on the season.  Charlotte outscored Boston 17-9 in the extra session to earn the upset victory.

Bobcats’ pointguard Raymond Felton led his team with 25 points, Gerald Wallace had 23 and rookie DJ Augustin added 20 off the bench.  Center Emeka Okafor also provided a significant contribution to the Charlotte cause with 13 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.  Boston’s Paul Pierce led all scorers with 28 points, Ray Allen scored 20 and Kevin Garnett added 14 points.  Once again the Celtics bench struggled, as Charlotte’s reserve outscored their Boston counterparts by a 34-19 margin.

Celtics’ coach Doc Rivers suggested that his team needed to find a way to regain their mental and emotional intensity:

"We told our team before the season it will be 82 Game 7s. Every time we play it's a Game 7 for the other team. On the nights we're not ready mentally for that, we're going to have to get lucky and play over our head to win."

At their best, the Celtics are famous for their ability to intimidate opposing teams into making mistakes.  On this night, these circumstances were turned around.  Charlotte’s Augustin suggested that it was just a matter of standing up to the defending NBA champs:

"They come in and intimidate you and try to punk you. But if you don't back down from them, they kind of fold."

Bobcats’ coach Larry Brown suggested that he’d like to see the same intensity from his team every night and not just against the NBA’s elite:

"The one thing I always remember is when you're a good team, every team you play against is trying to bring their best game. That's a pretty special group that Boston has. We've got to learn to bring it every night like that and not just against Boston."

Despite this loss and the recent downturn in the team’s fortunes, Kevin Garnett tried to put on a brave face:

"We'll get better. We're a team of confidence, a team of character. We're just getting everybody's best shot right now.”