Bobcats aim to continue success against Raptors

The Charlotte Bobcats actually have something to brag about this season and it's their success against the Toronto Raptors.

The two last-place teams will meet for the third and final time this evening at Air Canada Centre. Charlotte has taken the first two matchups with the Raptors, including a 98-91 win up north back on Feb. 17, and is unbeaten in the past six encounters.

Charlotte is 9-2 in the previous 11 games against Toronto and has won three in a row as the visitor in this series.

However, the Bobcats are mired in a seven-game losing streak and opened a four-game road trip with a 110-107 overtime loss against Detroit. Byron Mullens had 20 points and nine rebounds, and D.J. Augustin finished with 16 points and 10 assists for Charlotte, which had good looks at the end from Mullens and Reggie Williams. Williams had 17 points in defeat.

"It was a hard fought game and we just need to play like this here on out," Mullens said after the loss. "There's something we can definitely learn from this game. We just have to play like that for the rest of the season."

The Bobcats fell to 3-23 on the road and will also visit the Hawks and Bucks on the road trip. They are last in the Southeast Division. In injury news, forward Corey Maggette (Achilles) is out for at least one week and center DeSagana Diop is questionable Tuesday with a strained hamstring/knee. Maggette leads the team with 15.4 ppg and did not play against the Pistons.

Toronto will close out a five-game homestand tonight and is 2-2 so far on the residency. It owns a 10-17 record as the host and recorded a 99-92 victory over Washington on Sunday.

Andrea Bargnani had 18 points and eight rebounds, while Jose Calderon and DeMar DeRozan added 15 points apiece for the Raptors, who entered the game having lost three of four games.

"We're just trying to continue getting better...(and) finishing the season off strong," said DeRozan, who is averaging 20.0 points on the homestand.

The Raptors shot 48.1 percent and scored 15 points off 13 Wizards turnovers. They are trying to win back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 24-25 and sit in the basement of the Atlantic Division. On a more positive note for the Raptors, they rank third among Eastern Conference teams in field goal shooting percentage in 20 games since the All-Star break.