CHARLOTTE, N.C. --- Raja Bell scored 24 points and the Charlotte Bobcats looked nothing like the NBA's lowest scoring team in beating the road-weary Atlanta Hawks 103-83 on Friday night.
Bell hit 9 of 12 shots, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range, Ronald "Flip" Murray added 15 points in his Charlotte debut, and Gerald Wallace offset a poor shooting night with 18 rebounds in the Bobcats' second consecutive win.
The Hawks struggled defensively and saw their two-game winning streak snapped at the end of a difficult trip that also took them to Los Angeles, Portland and Sacramento. Josh Smith and Jamal Crawford each scored 13 points, but combined to shoot 10 of 27 from the field.
The Hawks fell behind by 21 in the third quarter and scored only 14 points in the fourth.
The Bobcats, who came in averaging an NBA-low 79.8 points, had reached 80 only once in their first four games -- a double-overtime contest. But three days of practice following Monday's 79-68 win over New Jersey and Murray's return from a shin injury resulted in an efficient performance.
Wallace had 11 points on 3 of 14 shooting, but had another big game on the glass four nights after grabbing a career-high 20 rebounds. Charlotte held a 55-35 rebounding edge.
Bobcats coach Larry Brown called the Hawks "probably the most athletic team in the league" before the game, but fatigue seemed to set in.
SUNS 110, CELTICS 103
In Boston, Jason Richardson bounced back from his worst game of the season to score 34 points with 10 rebounds, and Phoenix rebounded from its only defeat to beat Boston.
Kevin Garnett had a season-high 26 points for Boston -- the most he's scored since missing the end of the 2008-09 season and the playoffs with strained ligaments in his right knee.
Steve Nash had 16 points with 12 assists for Phoenix, shaking loose to hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds left after Boston closed an 11-point fourth-quarter gap to four points.
Amare Stoudemire added 22 points, while Richardson finished 6 for 7 from 3-point range.
Boston was trying to start 7-0 for the second time in three years.
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