On December 12th, in the last game of their Texas trip, the Bobcats were not in good form and were defeated 94 to 105... The 'Youth Army' with an average age of just under 27, surprisingly faced stamina issues in a back-to-back-to-back Texas trip with no rest, something only a Texas trip could bring about.
First, they clashed into overtime with the Mavericks, then faced full-court defense from the Rockets, and finally went up against the Spurs with a more complete system and ranked second in offensive efficiency, and back to the top ten in defense in the league.
Thanks to the winning streak earlier this month, the Bobcats had managed to jump to second place in the East with a 16-4 record, but after being knocked by the Texas trio to a 17-6 record, they slid directly to fifth in the East, while the Bulls with an 18-6 record surged from fifth to second.
After finishing the Texas trip, they returned to Charlotte for a night's rest, and on the 14th faced the iron-like Jazz at home.
