Morrison steps up

Adam Morrison was answering a reporter’s question when someone turned on the television in the locker room, showing that North Carolina had an early 10-point lead on his old school, Gonzaga.

“Oh no,” Morrison said, stopping in mid-sentence. Raymond Felton, a North Carolina product, then started ribbing him.

It was the only time the two didn’t work together all night Wednesday.

Morrison broke out of his shooting slump to score 26 points, while Felton added 16 points and nine assists while playing all 48 minutes as the Charlotte Bobcats held on to beat the visiting Boston Celtics 92-83.

“We’ve been in every game and it’s tough when you lose those games,” Morrison said. “Hopefully we can play together like this and start hovering around .500.”

Morrison’s jumper with 2:11 left put Charlotte up 85-77. He then fed Emeka Okafor for a layup with 38 seconds left and hit one free throw in the final minute to ice it, finishing one shy of his career high set last week against San Antonio.

Morrison, the No. 3 pick in the draft, shot 8 of 17 after going 8 for 29 in the previous two games.

“There is going to be a transition point that people don’t understand,” Morrison said. “My shooting percentage is not where I want it right now, but I’m taking good shots. I’m happy that the coaching staff and the players have stuck with me.”

The Bobcats blew a 12-point first-quarter lead and a 10-point edge in the second quarter. After Charlotte went up 80-68 with 5:28 left, the Celtics scored nine straight points. But Matt Carroll and Morrison hit back-to-back jumpers to help the Bobcats snap a two-game losing streak.

Felton, who became the first Bobcats player in their three-year history to play an entire game, hit a jumper that capped a 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter that gave Charlotte a 75-64 lead.

Jazz 110, Kings 101: At Sacramento, Calif., Carlos Boozer had 32 points and 13 rebounds, and Utah rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat the Kings for its seventh straight victory.

Nuggets 115, Warriors 112: At Oakland, Calif., Carmelo Anthony had 33 points and nine rebounds, and Denver held off Golden State.

Trail Blazers 100, Nets 97: At Portland, Ore., Zach Randolph scored 25 points and the Trail Blazers rallied past New Jersey.

Raptors 95, Cavaliers 87: At Toronto, Chris Bosh had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and the Raptors ended a six-game losing streak with a win over Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland.

Bucks 98, 76ers 94: At Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 11 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, and the Bucks overcame Andre Iguodala’s triple-double to beat Philadelphia.

Timberwolves 107, Knicks 89: At Minneapolis, Minnesota got 21 points from Ricky Davis and 19 by Kevin Garnett to beat New York.

Rockets 86, Wizards 82: At Houston, Yao Ming had 25 points and 14 rebounds, Tracy McGrady added 13 points and 12 rebounds, and the Rockets survived another fourth-quarter meltdown to beat Washington.

Magic 96, Pacers 91: At Orlando, Fla., Jameer Nelson scored 22 points, Dwight Howard had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Magic held off Indiana.

Pistons 103, Hawks 98: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Chauncey Billups had 24 points and 10 assists, and Detroit beat Atlanta.

Spurs 106, Heat 86: At San Antonio, Tim Duncan scored 19 points, and Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili each added 17 in the Spurs’ victory over Miami.

Suns 92, Hornets 83: At Phoenix, Steve Nash scored 24 points to lead the Suns past New Orleans.

Around the league

Grizzlies rookie guard Kyle Lowry will be out indefinitely after breaking his left wrist during Tuesday’s loss to Cleveland. … Morris Peterson was scratched from the Toronto game against Cleveland because of a slightly torn tendon in his left elbow, ending the longest consecutive games streak in the NBA. Peterson played in 371 straight games since Feb. 12, 2002.