The Bobcats only went to the line 13 times, and 12 of those free throws were taken by Gerald Wallace. Chris Bosh scored 35 points. Andrea Bargnani scored 27. Toronto outrebounded Charlotte by one, 34-33. And the Bobcats dominated, winning 102-89.

The Raptors got basically nothing from anyone else on the floor. Joey Graham was decent off the bench for a little bit of a bright spot, but Shawn Marion continued his descent into irrelevance and the whirlpool of suck the most pessimistic prognosticators predicted he'd find when he forced his way out of Phoenix.

Wallace and Boris Diaw, though, were too much to overcome, each scoring 30 points. Crash added 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks to round out a fantastic game.

I didn't catch the reason why Emeka only played 20 minutes, but that's not a terrible thing, given the back to back they're playing tonight and then tomorrow in Charlotte against the Indiana Pacers.

The Bobcats now occupy a certain space. It would be a disappointment to miss out on the playoffs, but no tragedy. If they do make the playoffs, they'll likely be big underdogs, but every team other than Cleveland will have trouble dealing with them. And if Gerald decides to take over for a couple weeks the way he has the last five games, that first round series will be in doubt.

But that's a series of "if" after "if". The most practical thing to do is resort to the old cliche: Take it one game at a time. 9-4 the rest of the way is doable, especially now that New York and New Jersey are hobbled, the Los Angeles Lakers have clinched, Boston is a group of walking wounded, and Dwyane Wade might still be bothered by injury--though he'll likely play--when the Cats host him two weeks from now.

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The Pacers lost to the Mavs on a Dirk Diggler buzzer beater, applying a bit more brake to their playoffs push. Troy Murphy remains my favorite Pacer, since he's a strong rebounder who can shoot threes. TJ Ford continues to impress after landing on a third team that figured it had a better option already in house. And Danny Granger is a quiet star in the Joe Johnson mold, well known to hoops fans, but only somewhat recognized outside our little sphere.