Wallace helps Bobcats hold off Bulls 83-82

CHICAGO (AP) -- Charlotte can't seem to beat anyone other than Chicago lately, and the Bulls have only had trouble with the Bobcats.

D.J. Augustin scored 15 points, Gerald Wallace had 13 points and 16 rebounds and Charlotte held off Chicago 83-82 on Tuesday night. Boris Diaw and Stephen Jackson added 12 points apiece to help the Bobcats snap a three-game losing streak, with their last win coming at home against the Bulls last Wednesday.

"I'm not going to say we've got their number, but we're playing them well and that's what counts," Charlotte coach Paul Silas said.

Jackson scored Charlotte's last four points on a jumper and a pair of free throws in the final minute.

"Everybody contributed tonight," Jackson said. "D.J. played well. Gerald (Wallace) made some big rebounds and a big dunk at the end of the game. Tyrus (Thomas) with a big block. We had contributions from everybody."

Derrick Rose scored 33 points to lead Chicago, but missed a shot at the buzzer. The Bulls lost for just the second time in their last seven games.

"I think we match up with them very well," Wallace said. "We're just as athletic as they are."

Ronnie Brewer had 12 points and Luol Deng added 10 for Chicago, which was playing without injured forward Carlos Boozer -- second on the team in scoring (20.1 points per game) and rebounds (10.1) -- and Joakim Noah.

The Bulls got a chance for the win after an official's review gave them ball at their own end. Initially, a deflected ball had been awarded to Charlotte, but the review showed that the ball went off Augustin's fingertips.

After Kyle Korver's driving shot was blocked out of bounds with 3.1 seconds left, he inbounded the ball to Rose, who drove the middle of the floor and shot a fadeaway over Charlotte's Gerald Henderson Jr., but missed off the front of the rim.

"I was just trying to get back to the middle as quick as I could and get something off but it was short," Rose said. "It was a good look but short. I'll learn from it. The next time I'm in that situation, I'll shoot it as high as I can."

Boozer sprained his left ankle in Chicago's win over Miami on Saturday and is listed as day-to-day. The Bobcats took advantage of his absence, outscoring the Bulls 46-28 in the paint.

"We're missing some key players, but we still could have won this game," Rose said. "We had our chances to put the game away. It just didn't happen."

Wallace was called for a technical foul for tripping Brewer and Kyle Korver made the subsequent free throw to give Chicago a 74-72 lead with three minutes to play. Wallace apparently hurt his ankle on the play, limping around and grimacing as Korver shot his free throw.

However, Wallace looked fine on a putback dunk that tied the score at 74.

Rose answered with a double-pump drive and layup, putting Chicago back up by two.

Wallace hit two free throws, but Rose answered again, hitting a pull-up jumper with 1:44 to play. Two possessions later, Wallace hit a driving layup in transition and was fouled. His free throw put the Bobcats up 79-78 with 1:13 to play.

After a timeout, Rose scored on a putback to put Chicago up by a point. Jackson answered with a jumper, giving the Bobcats an 81-80 lead with 47.5 seconds to play.

Deng missed a jumper for Chicago and Jackson was fouled. His two free throws put Charlotte ahead by three.

Rose drove and scored on a short runner, cutting the Bulls' deficit to one with 25.2 seconds left.

Rose's 12 points sparked a third-quarter surge for Chicago, with his 3-pointer highlighting a 10-2 run that put Chicago up 57-51.

At the time of Rose's 3, the Bulls were 4 for 4 from 3-point range. They finished 6 for 12 from beyond the arc, while Charlotte missed all 13 of its attempts.

The Bobcats were able to hang close well into the fourth quarter thanks to a disparity in turnovers. Charlotte forced 14 Chicago turnovers while committing just nine, and enjoyed a 25-8 edge in points off miscues.

"You can't turn the ball over against this team," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "If you do, you put them in the open floor and they score easily. We created our own problems."

Charlotte shot 60 percent from the floor in the opening quarter and 50 percent for the first half, leading 47-44 at the break.

Augustin scored nine points to lead Charlotte in the opening half. Rose led Chicago with 13 points.

Thomas returned to action for Charlotte and had eight points and four rebounds against his former team. Thomas, who played his first 3 seasons with the Bulls before being traded to Charlotte last season, was suspended for the Bobcats' game in Philadelphia on Monday for elbowing New Orleans' Emeka Okafor in the head.

NOTES: The Bobcats are 7-5 since Paul Silas replaced Larry Brown as coach on Dec. 22. ... Former Bulls forward Charles Oakley is one of Silas' assistants. He amused himself during the first half by grabbing the shorts of Chicago's Taj Gibson on an inbounds play and holding on when Gibson tried to run down the court.

Updated January 18, 2011