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For Bobby Hornets run by Raptors to snap seven-game skid
Posted: Tuesday January 18, 2000 08:12 AM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The Charlotte Hornets took a step in the right direction Monday night. They have many more steps to take. "I don't think you can ever put something like this behind you. We're just going to keep trying to take it one day at a time," Eddie Jones said after the Hornets won for the first time since co-captain Bobby Phills was killed in a car wreck. Five days after the crash and one day after burying Phills, the Hornets rode a 25-0 surge to a 115-94 victory over the Toronto Raptors. The run was one point short of the club record for most consecutive points scored and it helped the Hornets end a seven-game losing skid. But those numbers were secondary on an emotional night when the team continued to focus on its recovery from the shock of losing Phills. "This is a major boost," coach Paul Silas said. "We have quality people on this team. There's no reason we can't pick it up and go forward." The days following the wreck appeared to be hardest on point guard David Wesley, Phills' close friend and the man police say Phills was racing at the time of the crash near the Charlotte Coliseum.
Wesley, wearing one of Phills' sweatbands on his left arm, was wiping away tears at the start of the game, but by late in the third quarter, he was grinning and trading high-fives and cheers with teammates. He has declined to speak with reporters since the crash. "We're talking to him," Silas said. "He knows we're with him and he knows we depend on him. We expect great things from David coming down the stretch." Charlotte, improving to 14-2 at home, got 25 points and five steals from Jones, 24 points and 11 rebounds from Derrick Coleman, and 23 points from Elden Campbell. Wesley, repeatedly drawing loud cheers from the crowd of 20,278, finished with nine points, nine assists and three rebounds. Vince Carter, one of several Toronto players to spend much of the game in foul trouble, also left briefly in the third quarter with a bruised right knee. He wound up playing just 29 minutes but had 24 points, two games after scoring a club-record 47. The Raptors wound up with 36 fouls, leading to the Hornets shooting 55 free throws and making 41 -- both club records. "We made mistakes defensively," Toronto's Antonio Davis said. "It's been something that's been coming on over the last 12 games. somebody has to step up and take the personal challenge." Charlotte held the Raptors scoreless for more than seven minutes bridging the second and third quarters, opening the way for the Hornets to build a 63-50 lead. At that stage, Toronto had eight players with at least three fouls. Wesley took over from there, contributing five points and two assists as the Hornets stretched their lead to 79-58 with 4:29 left in the quarter. The Raptors got no closer than 12 in the fourth quarter. The evening began with a reading of a letter of gratitude to the Hornets and their fans from Phills' widow, Kendall, and it continued with a video tribute to her late husband. The clip featured a mix of Phills' highlights and him hamming for cameras with his teammates and his wife. With the arena still dark, the club asked fans to take part in a moment of silence, during which a spotlight was trained on a chair placed near the Hornets' basket. A basketball sat on the chair and Phills' jersey was draped over the back of the seat. While practically everyone in the coliseum stood, Wesley sat on the Hornets' bench, slumped over and crying. Several teammates tried to console him after the lights came back up, but he still had tears in his eyes when he walked out for the opening tip. "The tribute to start the game was emotional," Charlotte's Anthony Mason said. "We had to get past that, swallow back our tears and hold our hearts." Notes: Toronto played without Charles Oakley, who was serving a one-game suspension for what the NBA called unsportsmanlike conduct in a loss to Milwaukee on Saturday. ... Charlotte scored a season-high 40 points in the third quarter. ... Toronto is 1-7 overall in Charlotte, including losses in its last four games.
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