Bobcats Score Historic Upset

Emeka Okafor had the best game of his young rookie season with 22 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 91-89 victory over the visiting Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.

The Bobcats became the first expansion team to beat the reigning NBA champion since Portland and Buffalo defeated the New York Knicks during the 1970-71 season.

“We made the statement before that we’re not just an expansion team, but it means more if we win,” Okafor said. “It just kind of shows that we’re legit, and ‘expansion’ is just a label.”

The Pistons had all their players except for Ben Wallace back from suspensions stemming from their brawl last week with the Indiana Pacers. Wallace sat out the second of six games.

Rasheed Wallace was ejected after picking up two technical fouls. The first was for throwing his headband into the stands in disgust after a fourth-quarter turnover. The second technical was for arguing that he did nothing wrong.

“Now I know with [Ron] Artest out, I know I’m back on that blacklist,” Wallace said. “I’ve got that target on my back.”

Seattle 103, Minnesota 92 -- Rashard Lewis scored 27 points, Ray Allen added 24 and the SuperSonics (10-2) were deadly from the outside once more at Minneapolis.

Seattle made 10 of 19 three-point attempts, the fifth time this season the SuperSonics have made at least 10 three-pointers.

Portland 99, Miami 87 -- Zach Randolph had 24 points and Derek Anderson added 19, helping the Trail Blazers pull away at Miami.

Shaquille O’Neal had 17 points and 13 rebounds, his seventh double-double in the last eight games for Miami, which shot 37.5% in the second half and fell to 1-4 against the Western Conference. The Heat is 7-0 against the East.

Sacramento 102, Houston 96 -- Peja Stojakovic scored 22 points and Bobby Jackson got 10 of his 18 in the fourth quarter to help the Kings complete a perfect five-game homestand.

Chris Webber scored 11 points on three-for-17 shooting, but the Kings made only seven turnovers and had 30 assists.

Denver 90, New Jersey 88 -- Kenyon Martin had 22 points and 12 rebounds against his former team, and Earl Boykins made a runner with 21 seconds left at Denver to lift the Nuggets to their fourth consecutive victory.

Denver didn’t get much help from Alonzo Mourning (two points on one-for-eight shooting) or Carmelo Anthony (nine points, four-for-15 shooting).

New York 104, Atlanta 88 -- Nazr Mohammed had another strong game against the team that traded him last season, scoring 18 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in the Knicks’ victory at New York. Mohammed made eight of 12 shots and had three steals. Stephon Marbury had 11 assists for the Knicks, all in the first half.

Last March, Mohammed had 18 points and 13 rebounds in his first game against the Hawks, with whom he spent three seasons.

“I wanted a little bit more of an opportunity while I was there, so I kind of showed them what they’re missing,” Mohammed said.

Washington 102, Toronto 86 -- Antawn Jamison scored 28 points and Gilbert Arena scored 26 at Washington. The Wizards won their third game in a row for the first time since March 2003.

Golden State 115, New Orleans 109 -- Jason Richardson had 26 points and 12 rebounds and the Warriors needed three overtime periods at Oakland to hand the Hornets their ninth loss in 10 games.