CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was Stephen Jackson's home debut with the Charlotte Bobcats and it marked Tyler Hansbrough's first professional game back in North Carolina.
Then the star turned out to be somebody the fans, including Tar Heels coach Roy Williams, couldn't have expected: the old center who barely played last season.
Nazr Mohammed continued his surprising turnaround Sunday, scoring 18 points and controlling the inside as Charlotte snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 104-88 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
With Tyson Chandler sidelined for a second straight game with back spasms, the 32-year-old Mohammed got the start. Seven months after saying he wanted to be elsewhere if he was going to ride the bench again, Mohammed hit eight of 10 shots, grabbed five rebounds, blocked two shots and outplayed Pacers big man Roy Hibbert.
Charlotte's highest offensive output of the season and its first win since Nov. 6 came with an unlikely man in the middle. Mohammed appeared in only 39 games last season, but he's contributing now.
"This is my 12th year. I'm not going to be an All-Star. I'm not going to get any personal accolades," Mohammed said. "I kind of see this is toward the end of my career, so winning is pretty much the only thing that's going to satisfy me. All I have left is trying to be part of a winner."
Wins have been hard to come by in coach Larry Brown's second season thanks to a dysfunctional offense. Brown hopes Jackson's addition will help, and he scored 10 points in his home debut as the Bobcats sent the Pacers to their third straight loss following a five-game winning streak.
"It feels good to finally be here," said Jackson, who shot 5 for 13. "To come in and kind of get a feel for this arena and the fans. The good thing about it was my first game was a win."
Boris Diaw added 17 points and rookie Derrick Brown provided a spark off the bench with a season-best 13 for Charlotte, the NBA's lowest-scoring team.
Struggling Indiana turned out to be no match. Dahntay Jones scored 19 points and Danny Granger had 18 for the Pacers, who fell behind big in the second quarter and never recovered.
"Their bigs probably shot 90 percent, 80 percent from the field," Granger said. "We couldn't stop their pick-and-roll, even though we knew it was coming."
It made for a sour homecoming for Hansbrough, who led the Tar Heels to the national championship in the spring while becoming North Carolina's all-time leading scorer.
The rookie grabbed spare tickets from teammates for friends and family. Four of the best courtside seats in the house were filled by his old coach, Williams, and his family.
Greeted by cheers and a smatter of boos from the Duke fans, Hansbrough showed he he's still working himself into the rotation following a preseason shin injury. He didn't get his first field goal until the fourth quarter, finishing with eight points, six rebounds and five fouls in 21 minutes.
"College atmosphere vs. NBA is a little different," Hansbrough said. "But it's always good to come back to Carolina and see everybody."
Looking disjointed as they work injured players back into the lineup, the Pacers shot 41 percent from the field, including 5 of 22 from 3-point range.
Jeff Foster didn't score and picked up three fouls in nine minutes in his first game after missing more than three weeks with a sprained right ankle. Troy Murphy had seven points and eight rebounds in his second game back from a back injury.
"We didn't play the way we've been playing to win games," Jones said.
Jackson, cheered as he was introduced in his first game since being acquired from Golden State last week, hit a jumper early in the second quarter to give Charlotte a 38-22 lead.
When the Pacers made a run in the third, Mohammed went to work with a couple of buckets. Brown added a jumper, and Diaw a 3-pointer as Charlotte built an 81-60 lead entering the fourth quarter.
"I just want to be part of winning," Mohammed said. "Sitting on the sidelines watching us last year win some, watching us lose some, it was so hard on me that I can't find satisfaction in just what I've been doing so far."
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