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By MIKE CRANSTON AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Emeka Okafor had 21 points, Matt Carroll scored all 16 of his points in the fourth quarter to prevent Utah from pulling off another dramatic comeback, and the Charlotte Bobcats held on for a 101-89 win over the Jazz on Friday night.
Okafor also had 10 rebounds, Raymond Felton added 18 points and 12 assists and Primoz Brezec had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Bobcats, whose 20-point halftime lead was whittled to four with just over 4 minutes left.
But the Jazz, who rallied from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to win in Atlanta on Wednesday, ran out of steam.
Carroll had a four-point play early in the fourth quarter and a three-point play with 3:14 left that gave Charlotte a 92-84 lead. Carroll then drew an offensive foul and Okafor banked in a jumper on the ensuing possession.
Carroll's deep 3-pointer with 50 seconds left put it away for the Bobcats, who bounced back from a devastating loss in New York on Wednesday when they blew a 19-point first-half lead and gave up a tip-in at the buzzer.
The Bobcats also continued an unlikely trend of seemingly beating only the NBA's elite. Charlotte has only seven wins, but four are against division leaders Detroit, San Antonio, Orlando and now Utah, which is 2-3 all-time against the NBA's newest team.
Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 14 rebounds -- his league-leading 20th double-double -- and Mehmet Okur scored 19 points for the Jazz, who committed 19 turnovers.
Utah was trying to come back from a 20-point deficit to win for the third time this season after an awful beginning.
The Jazz managed just 13 points in the first quarter and fell behind 29-15 early in the second as Okafor and Brezec had their way inside.
Utah coach Jerry Sloan called two timeouts and picked up a technical foul midway through the second quarter, but it didn't help. Okafor's dunk with 2:57 left gave the Bobcats' their first 20-point lead and it was 53-33 at halftime.
The Jazz chipped away at the deficit in the third quarter, and Matt Harpring hit three straight shots to start the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 78-70.
Charlotte was leading 59-42 when Brevin Knight, who returned after missing four of the previous six games, left after aggravating a groin strain.
That left Felton, who shot 5-for-19, as the only true point guard, but Charlotte had only 13 turnovers.
Notes:@ Okur and Charlotte's Jake Voskuhl were each given technical fouls late in the third quarter after some light shoving under the basket. Dick Bavetta, one of the officials who worked the Nuggets-Knicks brawl last week, separated the two. ... Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff said they've complained to the league that New York never had clear possession and shouldn't have been granted a timeout with 0.1 seconds left in the second overtime on Wednesday, setting up David Lee's winning tip-in at the buzzer. ... The Bobcats had been 0-6 at home against Western Conference teams.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-12-22-06 1949MST
