McInnis scores game winner as Bobcats beat Hawks in OT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - It's been a few years since Charlotte Bobcats guard Jeff McInnis has been called on to hit the game-winning shot.

Not a problem.

McInnis came through when it counted, hitting a floater with 51.4 seconds left in overtime as the Bobcats beat the Atlanta Hawks 100-98 on Wednesday night.

``I've been struggling with that shot all year,'' said McInnis, who has played for seven different teams in his 11-year NBA career. ``But the shot was there, so I went in and made my little floater. ... It was good that it went down tonight.

``This year's been a crazy year ... and we needed this win. It's nice to go into the break with a win, so we don't have to think about losing.''

Raymond Felton scored 22 points, Emeka Okafor had 20 points and 22 rebounds, Jason Richardson added 19 points and Jared Dudley 12 for the Bobcats, who overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half to snap a seven-game losing streak.

``We needed it,'' said Okafor, who posted his second career 20-20 game. ``We wanted to break the losing streak before the All-Star break. ... We just had to tough it out. This was one that we should get, so we had to find a way to do it.''

Joe Johnson scored 23 points to lead five players in double figures for the Hawks, who entered the All-Star break with four consecutive losses. Tyronn Lue added 19 points, Marvin Williams had 14 and Al Horford put in 12 points and 14 rebounds.

``We didn't help ourselves,'' Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. ``We had some crucial turnovers, and we missed some good shots. ... We had some good looks. We just couldn't make shots at the end, and they made shots.

``Our guys are somewhat clock-watching right now. They get leads, and the teams start to make runs. They start to look at the clock and hope the clock runs out. That's not good.''

Atlanta led 51-39 at the half and went up by as many as 14 points early in the third quarter, but Charlotte fought back to tie it at 88 on a pair of free throws by Richardson with 2:46 left.

``Basically, we picked it up on the defensive end, because that's going to start our offense,'' Felton said.

The Bobcats went ahead twice, the last at 92-90 on another pair of free throws by Richardson with 6.8 seconds left in regulation. But the Hawks forced overtime when Anthony Johnson made two free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining.

Charlotte took a four-point lead early in the extra period, going up 96-92 on a pair of foul shots by Matt Carroll and a layup by Felton with 3:58 left. But back-to-back 3-pointers by Johnson and Lue put Atlanta back ahead 98-96 with 2:36 remaining.

Okafor tied it again with a pair of free throws with 1:46 left. After Horford missed a layup, McInnis drove the lane and dropped in a shot over him to put the Bobcats ahead to stay.

``It hasn't been that long since I hit a game-winner back when I was playing in Jersey (during the 2005-06 season),'' McInnis said. ``But it's been long enough where I feel good about this one.''

The Hawks twice had chances to send the game into a second overtime, but Williams lost control of the ball on a drive to the basket with 30 seconds left, and Johnson missed a runner in the lane with 2 seconds left.

``We're nowhere where I think we should be,'' Johnson said. ``We couldn't get stops and we couldn't make plays on offense. That killed us. ... Hopefully, everybody gets away, clears their minds and comes back ready to play.''
Notes: Hawks guard Josh Childress was sent home Wednesday to undergo an MRI on his injured right knee. Childress suffered what a team official called a mild hyperextended knee in Tuesday's loss to Detroit. Childress traveled with the team to Charlotte after the game, but returned to Atlanta when it was determined he wouldn't play Wednesday night. ... Hawks rookie Acie Law will spend the All-Star break in College Station, Texas, where his alma mater Texas A plans to honor him with ``Acie Law Day'' ceremonies during Saturday's game against Oklahoma State. Law, whose jersey will be hung from the rafters of Reed Arena during the ceremony, was the Aggies' first All-American, and led the program to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.