CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Stephen Jackson scored 30 points, D.J. Augustin added 23 and the undermanned Charlotte Bobcats began life without Gerald Wallace by beating the Sacramento Kings 110-98 on Friday night.
A day after trading the franchise's only All-Star and second-leading scorer to Portland, the Bobcats pulled away midway through the fourth quarter despite dressing only eight players.
Gerald Henderson, replacing Wallace in the starting lineup, scored 10 of his 21 points in the final period. Kwame Brown, Charlotte's only available center, added 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Samuel Dalembert had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who fell to 2-4 on a seven-game road trip that's included discussions about the team's possible relocation next season.
It was a strange sight at Time Warner Cable Arena when Wallace wasn't introduced last with much fanfare when the starting lineups were announced. A former Kings benchwarmer, Wallace went from an expansion draft pickup to the face of the Bobcats and the last original member of the 7-year-old franchise.
Owner Michael Jordan sent him west to cut costs and begin a rebuilding effort despite Charlotte still being in playoff contention in the Eastern Conference.
The Bobcats got two first-round picks, center Joel Przybilla, forward Dante Cunningham and forward Sean Marks, who will be waived. Przybilla, Cunningham and D.J. White, acquired in a separate deal with Oklahoma City for Nazr Mohammed, weren't eligible to play because all the players in the deals hadn't completed their physicals.
Kings coach Paul Westphal was worried before the game, saying when a team is short-handed it "seems it brings in the best of the guys that are left."
His fears were justified.
Jackson, who moved to Wallace's old small forward spot, shook off another technical foul early in the game to hit 11 of 19 shots and all but two of his 10 free-throw attempts.
Augustin constantly beat Kings point guard Beno Udrih off the dribble in hitting nine of 11 shots and Henderson continued his strong play that helped fuel the decision to trade Wallace.
The Kings, who struggled to defend and took 14 fewer free throws, did get 14 points from Marcus Thornton in his Sacramento debut after he was acquired from New Orleans on Wednesday in what's been a tumultuous week.
The Kings filed a request Thursday for an extension of the NBA's March 1 deadline to seek permission to relocate for next season. Unable to secure funding for a new arena, the Kings have been in discussions with officials in Anaheim, Calif., NBA Commissioner David Stern said.
Sacramento, coming off an impressive victory at Orlando on Wednesday, gave Charlotte trouble early.
Already short-handed, a nervous coach Paul Silas yanked Jackson 2 minutes into the game when he picked up his 14th technical foul of the season. It came less than a minute after Eli Roe, who ejected Jackson from a game earlier this season, called him for a charge.
Jackson, now two technicals shy of an automatic one-game suspension, did plenty of jawing the rest of the game, but avoided an ejection while getting to the free-throw line frequently.
Augustin's three-point play to start the third put Charlotte ahead 55-44. The Kings rallied to tie it later in the quarter, but faded in part thanks to 18 turnovers.
NOTES: Westphal said he hasn't addressed the franchise's uncertain future with the players. "Not at all," he said. "We just talk about the games." ... Silas expects the three players Charlotte will keep in the two deals, Przybilla, Cunningham and White, to practice Saturday. ... The Bobcats are expected to attempt to re-sign F Derrick Brown once they waive Marks and Morris Peterson, acquired in the Thunder trade. ... Udrih had 11 points and 13 assists.
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