Thomas finds zone when he’s called upon

The Charlotte Bobcats used a zone defense, so the Clippers turned to Tim Thomas.

Good move.

The Clippers leaned on the long-range shooter Friday night in a 102-93 victory at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

In his best performance with the Clippers, Thomas scored a game-high 24 points on nine-for-12 shooting, including five three-pointers in eight attempts. He also had six rebounds and six assists in almost 40 minutes.

“We did a great thing by going to Tim,” Corey Maggette said. “He just opens up the offense. Tim had a great game.”

With the Clippers struggling on offense to start the game, Thomas scored 11 points in the first quarter. He made his four field-goal attempts, including three three-pointers, and had two assists.

“I’ve had good games before, but I don’t look at points and things of that nature. I look at the overall effort,” Thomas said. “I look at how we played, how we moved the basketball and things like that.”

*

Jason Hart figured he might be the problem.

The Clippers were winless in five games since Hart signed with them, so he was especially upbeat about Friday’s victory.

“I thought I was bad luck, I really did,” said Hart, who had no turnovers in almost 31 minutes. “It was just good to get my first win.”

Quinton Ross had one of his best performances on defense.

Ross, who scored eight points and had two steals, harassed Bobcats players into difficult shots throughout the game.

“I don’t know what it was, I guess I just felt fresh,” Ross said. “I was in the right spot and got my hands on some balls.”

*

Bobcats Coach Bernie Bickerstaff took a playful jab at Coach Mike Dunleavy for leaving in the Clippers’ rotation players late in the game, saying, “I guess Dunleavy thought we had a 20-point play at the end of the game.”

jason.reid@latimes.com