CHARLOTTE, NC--Stephen Jackson scored 24 points and the Charlotte Bobcats held off a fourth-quarter rally to beat the struggling Los Angeles Clippers 106-98 on Friday night. Boris Diaw added 16 points, Tyson Chandler 13 and Raymond Felton had 10 points and 11 assists for the Bobcats, who won their fifth straight as they chase the first playoff berth in franchise history. Baron Davis scored 24 points for the Clippers, who have lost six straight and eight of their last nine games. They are also 0-3 since general manager Mike Dunleavy was fired. Rasual Butler added 18 points, Travis Outlaw and Drew Gooden had 16 apiece and Chris Kaman 13 for Los Angeles. Gerald Wallace added 17 points in the first half for the Bobcats before spraining his left ankle on a flagrant foul by Davis late in the second quarter. His status for Charlotte’s next game, at Orlando on Sunday, is uncertain, according to a team official. Wallace was driving for a fast-break layup after a steal when Davis grabbed him around the waist and knocked him to the floor with 1.5 seconds remaining. Wallace laid there for several minutes, holding his head as team medical personnel worked on him, but he returned to hit a free throw and stake the Bobcats to a 16-point halftime lead. The Bobcats built their lead as high as 18 points in the third quarter, going ahead 74-56 on Chandler’s dunk with 4:40 remaining. But without Wallace in the lineup, Charlotte appeared to lack energy at times, allowing the Clippers to get within 101-94 on Davis’ 3-pointer with 2:19 left in the game. However, Jackson put the win away for the Bobcats with a 3-pointer with 1:58 left that pushed Charlotte’s lead back into double figures, followed by a fast-break dunk 20 seconds later to put them ahead 106-94. After swapping the lead seven times and tying the score nine times over the first 9 minutes of the first quarter, Charlotte closed out the period with an 8-0 run, capped by Wallace’s layup with 49 seconds left, to pull ahead 31-23. The Bobcats shot 56.8 percent from the field (25 of 44) in the first half and led by 11 points early in the second quarter before Travis Outlaw hit a pair of 3-pointers to pull the Clippers within 40-35 with 7:51 remaining. Charlotte closed the period with a 13-4 run to take a 61-45 lead into halftime. NOTES: Bobcats coach Larry Brown denied a Philadelphia Inquirer report that he had counseled 76ers owner Ed Snider not to fire coach Eddie Jordan before the end of the season. “No, I’ve no direct conversations,” with Snider, Brown said during his pregame press conference. “(But) I’ve got friends there that ask me my opinion. That franchise means a lot to me, and I don’t like to see anybody in our league get fired.” … Michael Jordan missed his first home game since agreeing to buy majority control of the Bobcats from current owner Bob Johnson. He was in Indianapolis, watching oldest son Jeff’s Illinois team upset No. 13 Wisconsin 58-54 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament. … Charlotte C DeSagana Diop was a late scratch from Friday’s game, and will miss at least the next three games while undergoing tests to determine the cause of dizziness he suffered during a workout Thursday, team officials said. … Johnson canceled the Charlotte Jumper Classic on Friday. The equestrian event caused the Bobcats to play their final four games on the road last season.
