Charlotte (19-26) struggled initially in Brown's first season with the team, but the Bobcats have won six of eight, punctuated by Tuesday's 117-110 win over the Lakers.

They squandered a seven-point lead in the final 2:30 of regulation, missing five of six from the free throw line over that span, but Shannon Brown hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the second overtime as Charlotte handed the reigning West champions just their fourth home loss this season.

"I was thinking how we have to go to Portland but it will be a lot shorter flight now," said Larry Brown, whose team also travels to Denver and Utah on this trip. "I think we can all fly there without the use of Northwest."

"It was a heck of a performance," the coach added. "We made it tough on ourselves missing free throws down the stretch but in overtime it was pretty neat. And then we had a lot of guys that really stepped up."

Raymond Felton just missed a triple-double with 22 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, while Boris Diaw also nearly accomplished the feat with 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Diaw has emerged lately alongside Raja Bell for the Bobcats after the two veterans were acquired from Phoenix last month in exchange for Jason Richardson. The team is 12-10 since trading for the duo, which has combined to average 37.0 points and 13.6 rebounds in the last five games.

The Bobcats haven't qualified for the playoffs in franchise history, but they're currently just 1 1/2 games out of the East's eighth spot.

Their recent run includes a 102-97 overtime win over Portland on Jan. 17, as Gerald Wallace had 31 points and 16 rebounds. Wallace, though, is out after suffering a partially collapsed left lung and a fractured rib against the Lakers, but that won't change the Blazers' view of the Bobcats.

"They play smart basketball," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "They move the ball, they take advantage of your mistakes, so we've got to be solid on the defensive end of the floor."

Charlotte has also won two of its last three trips to the Rose Garden, including a 93-85 victory last March 29. Portland is 16-5 at home this season.

The Blazers (27-17) are coming off wins over two of the NBA's worst teams. After beating Washington 100-87 on Saturday, they outscored the Los Angeles Clippers 36-15 in the fourth quarter of Monday's 113-88 win.

Brandon Roy had 33 points in that game, while Travis Outlaw totaled 20 on 8-of-9 shooting off the bench, including 16 during the decisive final 12 minutes.

"I thought we should have done a much better job of putting them away earlier, but you've just got to take the wins the way they come," said Roy, who was 11-of-15 from the field. "Travis did a good job of stepping up in the fourth quarter and allowed us to separate from them."

Roy, forward LaMarcus Aldridge and center Greg Oden all fouled out in the loss to Charlotte earlier this month, while the Blazers played without starting point guard Steve Blake.

Blake returned from a five-game absence against the Clippers, but he didn't score and only played 11 minutes due to his shoulder injury. He's considered doubtful for Wednesday.