Afterward, Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks made it sound so simple: The Sixers could not make their shots or stop the Bobcats from making theirs.

A losing formula, if ever there was one. But it is not simple. It hasn't been all season.

Fourteen games into what was supposed to be a breakthrough year for the franchise, painful questions linger like a sprained ankle: Does this team just need time? From where will the outside shooting come? What is missing on defense?

"We're a .500 ball club," said power forward Elton Brand, who finished with a team-high 18 points. "We expected to be better than that."

"It has to do with us as a team playing to the level of our opponents," guard Willie Green said. "We have games like today we expected to win on paper. When we can be consistent enough to come into arenas and get wins, we'll be a better team. Until then, we'll be what we are: .500."

"We have to play the whole game," center Samuel Dalembert said.

The Sixers led by five after the first quarter and were tied with Larry Brown's Bobcats, 41-41, at halftime.

On a fastbreak with 8 minutes, 55 seconds left in the third quarter and the score tied, Brand was slammed to the floor by the Bobcats' Gerald Wallace, whose foot appeared to knock Brand's head against the court.

Brand remained on the floor long enough to inspire worry on the Sixers' bench. But soon after, Brand stood, embraced an apologetic Wallace, and made both free throws.

That sparked the Sixers on a 6-0 run to open a 53-47 lead.

It seemed that this would be the moment when the Sixers ran away with the game, making a statement that they were finally awake.

Then Charlotte went on a 27-14 run. The efficient outside shooting of their backcourt of Raymond Felton and D.J. Augustin, who combined for 48 points, served as the perfect contrast to the Sixers' 18.8 percent effort from beyond the arc.

"We were surprised," Dalembert said.

"I felt that our defense was the problem," Cheeks said.

In the first 13 games, you could always count on one thing: The Sixers would not be outrebounded.

They might be outshot from the three-point line, or out-executed in half-court sets, but rarely would the Sixers be outrebounded.

All three things happened last night, however. The Bobcats shot 54.8 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from the three-point line, finished with 21 assists, and held a 39-35 advantage on the boards.

The Sixers made 39.5 percent of their shots; there were plenty of misses to be rebounded.

Just not many people there to witness them.

Contact staff writer Kate Fagan at 856-779-3844 or kfagan@phillynews.com.