Just when things were looking up, key players are going down.
Co-captain Gerald Wallace could miss a couple of weeks with a collapsed lung and broken rib suffered Tuesday in a collision with Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum. And backup point guard D.J. Augustin had a setback in his recovery from an abdominal strain, so he'll miss another 10 days. Wallace spent a second night in a Los Angeles hospital and coach Larry Brown said he doesn't anticipate Wallace playing "anytime soon." A tube was inserted in Wallace's left lung to help restore normal function. The break was a non-displaced fracture of Wallace's fifth rib.
The injury occurred while Wallace was driving the lane with about two minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Bobcats up five points. Bynum hip-checked Wallace, then crashed his right elbow into Wallace's left rib cage.
Wallace crumpled to the floor for several minutes before teammates helped him to the locker room. Bynum was charged with a flagrant foul.
BLAZERS 88, BOBCATS 74: Reflective of how fatigued and depleted they were, following a double-overtime victory over the Lakers, the Bobcats fell behind 32-18 in the first quarter. The rebounding margin -- 45-26 for the Blazers -- showed how wiped out the Bobcats were.
