PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Emeka Okafor had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Brevin Knight added 14 points and 15 assists to lead the Charlotte Bobcats over the winless Philadelphia 76ers 110-93 on Friday night.

Kareem Rush scored 14 points and Primoz Brezec had 11 for the Bobcats, who dominated the boards, converted turnovers into points and used a deeper bench to send the Sixers to their second home loss this week.

Allen Iverson led the Sixers (0-3) with 29 points, Chris Webber added 20 and Steven Hunter 16. While Iverson and Webber have answered the question about their ability to play together, the next one may be, can they get anyone else involved?

The Bobcats – 18-64 in their inaugural season last year – took a 12-point lead in the second quarter and were never really challenged after that.

The Bobcats (1-1) led by 25 points in the third quarter of their opener against Chicago and were ahead 89-68 going into the fourth only to see it disappear. This time, they built on their 13-point lead through three, with a dunk by Okafor and a tough jumper from Jumaine Jones pushing the lead to 16.

When Matt Carroll made a 22-footer for a 92-75 lead, Knight raised his hands like he was raising the roof and the Bobcats were all smiles as they ran off the court on a Sixers timeout.

The fans started leaving after that, though there probably weren’t many more than 10,000 at the start.

Philadelphia blew a seven-point lead in the final minutes of an overtime loss to Milwaukee, then were blown out the next night at Detroit. It won’t get any easier with a game Saturday at Indiana.

With Sean May and Raymond Felton coming from national champion North Carolina, and Okafor also with an NCAA championship, the young and spirited Bobcats have infused the organization with a winning attitude.

When Knight sank a 16-footer from the right side midway through the third, he was knocked down on a foul by Kyle Korver. Knight made the free throw for a 16-point lead and the slumping Korver left to boos.

After setting the team 3-point mark last season, Korver has been an early bust. He scored eight points in the first two games and went 0-for-5 without a point against Charlotte.

The Sixers – who were outrebounded 48-38 – had their thin bench exposed in the second half. When the Bobcats used an all-sub lineup in the final minutes of the third, May knocked down a string of baskets and kept the healthy lead. He finished with 11 points.

With Korver and Andre Iguodala on the bench to start the fourth with four fouls each, and Hunter out with three, their lineup was Iverson, John Salmons, Kevin Ollie, Lee Nailon and James Thomas.

Iverson finished with 24 attempts and Webber had 17. The All-Star duo have little trouble finding each other. It’s their teammates who are getting left out. Hunter was the exception, going 7-for-8 in place of injured starting center Samuel Dalembert.

Notes: Known for his high-flying dunks, Iguodala instead tried a layup on an uncontested fastbreak and missed early in the first quarter. … Webber went over the 15,000 point mark. He is one of six active players with that many. Iverson is one of them. … The Sixers won all three games against Charlotte last season.

AP-ES-11-04-05 2141EST


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