The Charlotte Bobcats are winless this month (0-5) and will take on the Detroit Pistons tonight at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Charlotte suffered its fifth straight defeat with Friday's 112-103 decision at the hands of the Miami Heat in south Florida, as Garrett Temple scored 14 of his career-best 17 points in the fourth quarter and Kwame Brown registered a season-high 23 points to go with 13 rebounds.
"If you give the effort that we gave ... and play with that kind of dedication, it is a good thing we can build on,"
Bobcats head coach Paul Silas said. "We are going to be good. We really are."
D.J. White scored 13 points off the bench and both Boris Diaw and D.J. Augustin added 11 points for the Bobcats, who were trying to reach the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in team history.
The Bobcats will visit New Jersey and host Atlanta to close out the 2010-11 campaign and are 20-19 at home this season. Charlotte leading scorer Stephen Jackson (18.5 ppg) is doubtful for Sunday with a strained left hamstring and has missed five straight games.
Detroit has won two in a row since losing four straight and seven of eight games, and recorded a 110-100 victory over Milwaukee on Friday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Chris Wilcox led the way with 27 points and 13 rebounds, while Rodney Stuckey ended with 22 points off the bench. Tayshaun Prince and Charlie Villanueva scored 16 and 15 points, respectively, for the Pistons, who shot 50 percent from the floor and dominated on the glass by a 49-32 margin.
"He did a real good job,"
Stuckey said of Wilcox. "I think since we've come back from this All-Star break Chris has been playing really well for us. He's athletic, he can get up and down the court, and he's a presence around the rim."
The Pistons will try to stop an 11-game road losing streak tonight and are just 7-32 as the visitor this season. Their last win on the road was at Cleveland on Feb. 9. Detroit will host the Cavs before visiting Philadelphia in the 2010-11 season finale.
Charlotte has won two of three matchups with Detroit this season and four of the past five meetings between the teams. The Pistons are winless in three straight contests at the Bobcats.
