CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Washington Bullets coach Jim Lynam stood in his team's steamy dressing room yesterday after a 111-105 loss to the Charlotte Hornets and picked at the sore spots on a stat sheet.
Against the Bullets' defense, Charlotte hit eight of 13 three-point shots, shot .541 from the field and went to the foul line 31 times.
Despite that, the Bullets were in position to win until the end, when they weren't able to finish it off, and Lynam could read the grim details.
"Offensively, we were much better than we were at our place [Tuesday in a 97-88 loss to Charlotte], but defensively we just weren't any good. Who knows how to explain all of these things?" Lynam said.
Some of it may stem from the Bullets' continuing state of transition. Just as they got Chris Webber back from a shoulder injury Friday night, they lost guard Rex Chapman to a broken right thumb.
That forced them to move Calbert Cheaney to shooting guard against the Hornets while continuing to blend Webber back into the lineup.
It worked effectively in many ways. Rookie Juwan Howard scored 23 points in an impressive performance against Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson inside. Cheaney scored 20 and Webber flirted with a triple double, scoring 16 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and handing out eight assists in 39 minutes.
But when it came time to win, the Bullets couldn't make it happen.
They had bolted to a 14-point first-quarter edge before getting burned by former Bullet Michael Adams, who scored 12 second-quarter points as Charlotte went on a 28-6 run.
With four minutes left in the game, the Bullets held a 99-96 lead due in large part to the limited presence of center Gheorghe Muresan.
Though still largely a project, Muresan has compiled a nice resume against the Hornets. He scored 13 yesterday but, more importantly, the Bullets outscored the Hornets 45-27 during Muresan's 20 minutes.
"He's better than the world knows. He's better than he knows," Lynam said of the 7-foot-7 center.
Johnson scored on a reverse layup, and Mourning (26 points, 10 rebounds) contributed five points in a 7-0 spurt that put the Hornets up 103-99 with 2:13 left.
The Bullets went with a small lineup in the final minutes after the Hornets edged ahead, trying to offset Charlotte's front line with speed. Webber missed a three-pointer, the Bullets lost the ball on a shot-clock violation and Howard missed a jumper during the Hornets' go-ahead spurt. Any hope Washington had of stopping the Hornets' winning streak at five died when Dell Curry hit a 22-footer with 15 seconds left to give Charlotte a four-point lead.
"Washington played good basketball except for maybe eight or nine minutes," Hornets coach Allan Bristow said. "Muresan just gives us a problem with his presence. He seems to have his best games against us."
Bullets point guard Scott Skiles struggled against Hornets point guard Muggsy Bogues, committing five turnovers and not having an assist after the first quarter.
"Muggsy is the fastest in the league and I'm the slowest," Skiles said. "He causes me a lot of havoc."
It was Webber's second game back since missing 19 games with a shoulder separation. He started slowly, hitting three of his first 11 shots, but took the ball successfully at the Hornets' big men inside.
"I still feel a little rusty, but that can't be an excuse. My time will come, though," Webber said.
"We'll be all right if we can just make it through these times. It will eventually come along."