The Charlotte Bobcats struggle against most teams, and are making a habit of playing their best against the NBA's elite.

Sean May scored 17 points, fellow reserve Matt Carroll added 16 and the host Bobcats snapped Detroit's eight-game winning streak with a 97-89 victory last night.

Charlotte ended a two-game losing streak and continued its unlikely trend of beating the league's best teams. Three of the Bobcats' five wins have come against San Antonio, Cleveland and Detroit, which suffered its first loss since Nov. 15.

"One of the things is we get up for it. And then a lot of it also has to do with the mentality of the team coming to play us," guard Brevin Knight said. "You come in and see our record and you think you can turn it off and on, but we're going to battle you."

Clippers 116, Magic 91: Elton Brand scored 31 points on 12-for-14 shooting to help host Los Angeles beat Orlando, snapping the Magic's seven-game winning streak.

Hawks 107, Trail Blazers 96: Joe Johnson had 33 points and Atlanta snapped a nine-game losing streak to host Portland. The Hawks had not won at the Rose Garden since Dec. 15, 1997. The nine-game overall losing streak dated to 2002.

Timberwolves 95, 76ers 84: Ricky Davis scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and Kevin Garnett had 15 points and 14 rebounds for visiting Minnesota.