(Wednesday, April 7th)

Final Score: Charlotte 104, New Orleans 103

New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - D.J. Augustin made a key three-pointer with 15.8 seconds left, as the Charlotte Bobcats clinched the franchise's first- ever playoff berth with a 104-103 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

Augustin ended with 14 points for the Bobcats, who sit seventh in the Eastern Conference and will be heading to the postseason for the first time due to their win and Toronto's loss to Boston. The Bobcats entered the league as an expansion team during the 2004-05 season.

Stephen Jackson donated 29 points while Tyson Chandler chipped in 16 points and 10 boards for Charlotte, which came into Wednesday with an 0-5 all-time mark in the Big Easy.

"I'm happy for our fans. I'm happy for our franchise. I'm a coach. I always say celebrate the wins because the losses hurt," Bobcats head coach Larry Brown said. "I'm happy with the accomplishment, but a little angry with what went on in that second half."

Marcus Thornton finished with 36 points for the Hornets, who have lost four in a row. Darren Collison had 24 points and nine assists, while David West added 13 points and eight boards in defeat.

Trailing 84-82 early in the fourth, the Hornets put together a 15-5 run. James Posey ended the burst with a three-pointer to give New Orleans a 97-89 lead with 3:44 to play.

Charlotte fought right back with a 15-3 spurt to claim victory. The Hornets' lone field goal of the stretch came on Collison's driving layup with 44.6 seconds left to give the home team a 100-99 edge.

Jackson missed a baseline jumper but Raymond Felton grabbed the offensive rebound. Following a timeout, Augustin drained a three-pointer to give the Bobcats a 102-100 lead with 15.8 ticks to go.

At the other end, Collison missed a contested layup and Felton pulled down the defensive rebound. Felton then made two free throws to extend Charlotte's margin to four.

Thornton made a trey as time expired to account for the final margin.

The Bobcats scored the final 10 points of the first quarter to take a 32-21 edge into the second.

Charlotte started the second on an 8-2 spurt to create some breathing room. Augustin's jumper made it 40-23 with over nine minutes remaining. The Bobcats scored 11 consecutive points later in the period to build a 55-29 margin on Jackson's slam. The score was 60-38 at the break.

New Orleans outscored Charlotte, 40-19, in the third to make it a game. Collison tallied 10 points in the frame and his jumper cut the deficit to 79-78 after three quarters.

"I thought we did a good job just fighting and staying competitive," West said.

Game Notes

Charlotte and New Orleans split a pair of meetings this season...The Bobcats were without center Theo Ratliff (personal) and forward Tyrus Thomas (thumb)...New Orleans announced prior to the game that guard Chris Paul will miss the remainder of the season due to a ligament tear in his right middle finger...Felton ended with 12 points and seven assists...Charlotte turned the ball over 22 times, leading to 29 New Orleans points...Hornets head coach Jeff Bower was ejected in the second quarter after receiving back-to-back technical fouls.

04/08 01:11:22 ET