Cleveland's grip on the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference has been slipping partly due to its troubles on the road. The Cavaliers (41-33), who lead fifth-place Washington by three games, haven't won away from Quicken Loans Arena since a 119-105 victory over lowly New York on March 5.

A defeat to Charlotte (28-46) would give Cleveland seven straight road losses for the second time this season. The Cavaliers allowed 104.8 points per game in the first five games of their current road skid before an 85-71 loss to Detroit on Saturday night.

"We're just not focusing defensively on the road," Cleveland star LeBron James said. "We've had some struggles of late."

Wallace, a strong defensive force in the post, may miss his second straight game due to recurring back spasms. He was forced to leave Saturday's game when he re-injured his back in the third quarter after missing his previous two contests due to the injury.

Cleveland coach Mike Brown doesn't know when the 33-year-old Wallace will return.

"Right now it doesn't hurt very much," Wallace said. "I don't think it will ever be 100 percent, but we'll try to get it under control before the playoffs."

The Cavaliers won despite missing Wallace on Sunday night, beating Philadelphia 91-88. James made a twisting bank shot with 19.3 seconds left to put Cleveland ahead to stay.

James was out with a sprained left index finger in the Cavaliers' 96-93 loss at Charlotte on Dec. 8. Cleveland went on to win its next two games against Charlotte, but has dropped three straight road games against the Bobcats since a 101-97 win on April 2, 2006.

James is averaging nearly a triple-double in two games against Charlotte this season, posting 32.0 points 13.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists a contest. That doesn't bode well for a Bobcats team that had its faint playoff hopes take a hit Monday night, losing 104-100 to Toronto.

Charlotte, which was coming off a 3-1 road trip, is six games behind eighth-place Atlanta in the East.

The Bobcats continue to get strong performances from Jason Richardson. He had 26 points versus the Raptors after being selected the NBA's Eastern Conference player of the week Monday.

Richardson captured the award for the second time in four weeks after averaging 26.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in four games last week. He had 33 points in Charlotte's 98-91 loss to Cleveland on March 16.

The veteran swingman tops the Bobcats with 21.3 points per game, while Gerald Wallace is second with 19.6.

Wallace, who has sustained four concussions in four seasons, had no problems Monday after taking a forearm to the throat and hitting his head on teammate Emeka Okafor's knee during Charlotte's 93-85 win over Portland on Saturday night.

"He's going to get bumped, he's going to get knocked," Bobcats coach Sam Vincent said. "It's just how he plays."