Hapless Bobcats visit struggling Cavs

Wins haven't come easy for either the Charlotte Bobcats or Cleveland Cavaliers recently but one of the two NBA bottom-feeders will have to be in the black tonight since they will square off in the Forest City.

The Cavs have lost 10 of 11 with their latest setback coming Sunday in New Jersey, a 122-117 overtime hiccup against the Nets.

Antawn Jamison scored 34 points and Lester Hudson, getting major minutes due to a number of injuries in Cleveland's backcourt, supplied a career-high 26 points for the Cavaliers, who had snapped a nine-game losing streak with a win last Friday at Toronto.

Alonzo Gee finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and five assists while rookie big man Tristan Thompson had 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Donald Sloan, starting for the injured Kyrie Irving (shoulder), also recorded a career-high 14 assists.

Hudson, who signed his second 10-day contract Monday, drained four three- pointers in the fourth quarter, including one with three-tenths of a second remaining to send the game to overtime.

"It wasn't for the win, but it was one of my biggest shots," Hudson said.

The Cavs, who have dropped six straight at home, expect to be without Irving, the leading candidate for NBA Rookie of the Year, for at least two more games. Meanwhile, fellow guards Daniel Gibson (torn foot tendon) and Anthony Parker (bruised sternum) have also been sidelined.

The Bobcats lost their 12th straight contest and fell to an NBA-worst 7-48 with a 113-85 setback against Washington in the Queen City on Monday.

Corey Maggette scored a game-high 23 points and Kemba Walker finished with 16 points, seven boards and seven assists in the loss.

"We just started off bad from the get go and stayed that way throughout the game," remarked Walker. "Every time we tried to make a push, we couldn't really. It was just a bad one overall."

The Cavs have won three straight over the Bobcats after losing the previous five in the series.