Apr 13, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats power forward Bismack Biyombo (0) shoots over Milwaukee Bucks power forward John Henson (31) during the second half at Time Warner Arena. Mandatory Credit: Curtis Wilson-USA TODAY Sports

A player strangely resembling Bismack Biyombo showed up to Time Warner Cable in a Charlotte Bobcats uniform against the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday. His play helped anchor the Charlotte Bobcats to their 19^th victory of the season, defeating the Bucks 95-85.

Biyombo had 13 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks, as the Bobcats sent the Bucks to their ninth-straight road loss. Biyombo, who statistically has struggled most of the season in one of the league’s worst frontcourts, had one of his best games as a Bobcat against Milwaukee. It was a game that showed the total package of what Biyombo could become in the future with more polish and consistency.

Josh McRoberts flirted with a triple-double, with 18 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. McRoberts has been one of the most consistent players on the Bobcats since being acquired from the Orlando Magic. Against the undersized Bucks, the Bobcats were +16 in rebounding, finishing with 52 total boards for the game. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added eight rebounds of his own in just 30 minutes. Kemba Walker led the Bobcats with 21 points.

The Bobcats win was a great redemption game after the Bucks dropped 131 points on them a few weeks ago. The Bobcats haven’t had many games where they’ve tightened up defensively, got great overall play from their frontcourt and seem Biyombo look like a major presence at center. After the Bucks shot 52% from three against Atlanta Friday, they were just 9-29 from three Saturday. The Bucks shot 39% from the field overall. They were without their second leading scorer Brandon Jennings, who again sat with an Achilles injury. Mike Dunleavy led Milwaukee with 19 points, while Monta Ellis had 16 points.

Monday, the Bobcats will be back at Time Warner Cable Arena to host the New York Knicks. The Knicks could be looking to sit some of their starters as they get ready for the playoffs. The Bobcats last two games will be at home, as they end the 2013 regular season.

Apr 1, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Ekpe Udoh (13) during the game against the Charlotte Bobcats at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 131-102. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The last time the Charlotte Bobcats saw the Milwaukee Bucks, the Bucks were blowing up the scoreboard at the Bradley Center. Milwaukee’s 131-102 victory over the Bobcats, was the highest scoring output for the Bucks in four seasons. It was also the second highest amount of points the Bobcats have given up this season. As the season approaches the last few laps, the Bobcats will look for redemption in the Queen City against Brandon Jennings and company.

The Bucks have already secured the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, despite being under .500. The Bucks are three games back of the Boston Celtics for the seventh playoff spot. Unless the Celtics fold in their last few games, the Bucks likely have a first round matchup against the defending champion Miami Heat. The Bucks have had an interesting season to say the least. After firing head coach Scott Skiles, the team remained in the playoff hunt and have seen improved play and chemistry from their backcourt in Jennings and Monta Ellis.

There’s no word if Jennings will play tonight in Charlotte, after missing last night’s game against Atlanta with an achilles injury. If he does miss, Ellis will get the start at lead guard, with J.J. Redick joining the starting lineup. The Bucks are a streaky three-point shooting team with Ellis, Redick and Ersan Ilyasova out on the perimeter. That’s also without mentioning Mike Dunleavy. After the Bobcats gave up another high three-point shooting night to the Bucks last night in Detroit, things could get a little worse in Charlotte.

For the Bobcats, there needs to be some resemblance of defense tonight. Yes, the end of the season is near and the Bobcats defense has been a disaster. But these are the type of games that some teams and players get up for. When a team like the Bucks drops 131 on you in regulation, players who compete with an edge come out and look to send a message in the next game. Sure, the Bucks might not care for whatever type of message the Bobcats send, but for Charlotte they need to prove something to themselves. This team has been getting punched in the mouth all season long and done nothing to retaliate. For once, I’d like to see the Bobcats rotate to shooters, communicate defensively and try to play an efficient team game. It’s the least the Bobcats could try to give the fans at Time Warner Cable Arena in these last three games.

November 19, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14) drives to the basket as he is defended by Milwaukee Bucks guard forward Mike Dunleavy (17) and forward center Larry Sanders (8) during the game at Time Warner Cable Arena. Bobcats win 102-98. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

The Charlotte Bobcats are on a five game losing streak, but they’ve been in four of the past five late, and led two of them very late. Could tonight be the night they get back on the winning track?

To do that, they’ll have to get through the Milwaukee Bucks, a team in somewhat of a funk itself. The Bucks are losers of two straight and four of the last five.

Charlotte won the first matchup between these two teams 102-98 on Nov. 19 behind strong performances from Kemba Walker, Ramon Sessions and Brandon Heywood.

Walker was on fire against the Knicks in Charlotte’s most recent game, but Heywood and Sessions weren’t much help in the loss.

The play of another guard for the Bobcats may decide this game, though; Gerald Henderson has played two games since coming back from injury, and against the Knicks he appeared to catch fire for a bit. Henderson scored 18 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and two-of-three shooting from behind the arc. He could take over in the starting lineup for Jeff Taylor, who should still continue to see solid playing time.

The Bucks are one of the best in the league at sharing the basketball, with 23 of their baskets per game coming off assists. Other than that, Milwaukee isn’t particularly scary at anything; They’re 19th in points per game, 17th in opponents’ points per game and 18th in rebounding.

As a team, Charlotte is going to have to win the battle of the boards, hold on to the ball late, and try to keep Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings from going off if they’re going to get back into the win column tonight.

November 19, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14) looks to pass as he is defended by Milwaukee Bucks forward Tobias Harris (15) during the game at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-US PRESSWIRE

So with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter of this game I was preparing a recap of this game that had a theme somewhat similar to the following: Moral victories might not be the best thing for the Bobcats, right now, but they’re playing well and they’re keeping themselves in every game.

Yeah. Scratch that.

The Charlotte Bobcats beat the Milwaukee Bucks Monday night, because of a very clutch fourth quarter performance.

Kemba Walker had 19 points on six-of-13 shooting, Byron Mullens had a great game with 19 points on 50 percent shooting and nine rebounds, and Ramon Sessions came off the bench to save the day with 23 points and four assists.

One huge reason the Bobcats have been winning this year is because they’ve been getting to the free-throw line and making those free shots. Monday night they got there 30 times and converted on 27 of them. That made up for a 43 percent shooting night (not bad but:) and a 47 percent shooting night from the Bucks.

Charlotte also out-rebounded the Bucks 44-39 behind Mullens’ and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s combined 18 boards and Brendan Haywood’s 11.

Monta Ellis led all scorers with 31 points, but missed a wide open three that would’ve put his team on top 101-100 with five seconds left.

Brandon Jennings scored just 10 points on 18 shots and Mike Dunleavy was the only other Milwaukee player in double digits with 16 points.

The Bobcats will take on the Toronto Raptors Wednesday at 7 pm in the Cable Box.

Oct 23, 2012; Raleigh, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker (15) drives between Miami Heat center Josh Harrellson (55) and shooting guard Terrel Harris (14) in the second half at PNC Arena. Miami won 98-92. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-US PRESSWIRE

Two teams will look to end losing streaks, as the Bobcats host the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow. The Bobcats are losers of five straight, while the Bucks are on a four-game skid. The Bobcats are coming off a four point loss to the Miami Heat and the Bucks are coming off a nine-point loss to the Toronto Raptors.

It’ll once again be interesting to see what lineup Mike Dunlap starts with tomorrow night. The Bucks aren’t a big team and have been a lot more offensivelyminded recently, which is a shocker for a Scott Skiles-coached team. It’s possible Dunlap could start with another smallball lineup to match the 6’1 Brandon Jennings and 6’3 Monta Ellis. You could see any combination of Walker, Sessions, Gordon and Hendo in the backcourt tomorrow.

Sessions has been a big lift for the Bobcats so far this preseason and is making a legitimate case to be the starting point guard. While it’s important to develop Kemba, Sessions has shown great team management, good scoring and a poised game from the point guard position.  Sessions had 24 points in 28 minutes for the Bobcats Tuesday night against the Heat. Kemba also had a strong game with 24 points in 33 minutes. It’s going to be a very interesting storyline to watch during the regular season, but it’s a good problem to have as long as both are playing well. It’ll be interesting to see how Kemba does against Jennings or Ellis tomorrow.

While the point guards combined to score 48 of the Bobcats 92 points Tuesday, the team still struggled offensively. The Bobcats shot 36$% from both the field and three point line. Offensively they had trouble finding good looks against one of the best defenses in the league, in Miami. It’s not shocking considering the Bobcats predictable offensive struggles, and the fact that they’re missing their two best scorers of the preseason in Ben Gordon and Byron Mullens. Hopefully a more evenly-matched team in Milwaukee can give the Bobcats some better looks on offense. While I don’t expect the team to be an offensive juggernaut this season, it’d be a little encouraging to see some progress as we hit the end of preseason.

Defensively the Bobcats don’t look bad right now. Aside from the game against OKC, they’ve been much more active, quicker to rotations, and seem a lot more into the overall schemes. They’ve only given up 100 points one time this preseason. Last season the Bobcats gave up 101 points a game. I’m a lot more encouraged defensively that I am offensively right now, so hopefully we see more progression tomorrow as well. If the team isn’t going to score, you at least want to see them put their effort in defensively to keep games close, and that’s exactly what they’re doing.

While the Bobcats and Bucks isn’t exactly a must-see matchup, games towards the end of preseason tend to get a lot more interesting. Coaches begin to get a feel for how they’ll start the season, most players are getting their legs behind them, and the realization that the season is looming really begins to kick in.