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For the first time in his seven-year career, Gerald Wallace visited the Charlotte Bobcats’ Time Warner Arena as a visitor Friday night. Emotions ran high for both fans and players alike as they watched the surreal sight of Wallace in another uniform.

Before the contest, Bobcats’ head coach Paul Silas said he expected Wallace to get a "wonderful" ovation from the crowd.

"He was the star of this team for a lot of years. He was here since [the Bobcats] inception," Silas said. "It’s going to be emotional for everybody, initially, but once you get out there on the court, like I tell my players, the opponents are your enemies… Hopefully we’ll just look at him as any other opponent."

Crash, as diehard Bobcats’ fans refer to the fearless Wallace, was honored with a video tribute before the contest and received a raucous ovation from the 18,000+ fans in attendance.

"Right before the game. Right before they did the tribute, that was hard for me," Wallace said of his emotions going into the contest. "It was a great feeling. I think the fans love me just as much as I love them so I knew I would get a warm ovation here."

Even though he was playing for the opposing team, Bobcats’ fans vigorously cheered Wallace throughout. Even during a stretch where he hit two straight 3-pointers to keep the Portland Trail Blazers ahead near the end of the third quarter, fans couldn’t help but cheer on the former Bobcat.

"It was heartwarming," Wallace said. "I guess they miss me just as much as I miss them."

Stephen Jackson, one of Wallace’s closest friends both on and off the court, scored 29 points (18 in the fourth quarter) to help Charlotte snap it’s season-long six-game losing streak wth the 97-92 win. The Bobcats’ captain talked about the former co-captain after the game.

"I had a chance to talk to him an hour before the game at the hotel. Our relationship is beyond basketball," Jackson said. "I wish him the best, they’re going to be a good team in the West, especially in the playoffs they’re going to be real dangerous. I love G to death man, and I wish him the best. I miss him to death too."

A visibly shaken Wallace took questions after the game. The only All-Star in Bobcats’ franchise history made a point to let the media know he still has a bond with the city of Charlotte, the team and it’s fans.

{AUTHOR_BOX}"I’m always watching the games. I talk to the guys all the time so it’s not like I’m just abandoning them or going to wash my hands of them," Wallace said. "I still have good friends on the team. There’s still a connection… I feel like there’s still a piece of me on that team."

Gerald Henderson, who perhaps gained the most from Wallace’s departure by gaining an opportunity to shine as a starter, learned a lot about the game of basketball from the former Bobcat. Even though he says it was hard on everybody to see Wallace go, Henderson believes this team has to move forward and put the past behind them.

"[Wallace] has been a great teammate and a great friend to me," Henderson said. "[But] he left and everyone’s got to kind of move past that.

"It’s sad to see him go, but our team has to move on. He’s moved on over there, he’s with a playoff team over there and he’s playing well."

Wallace scored 13 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked two shots in his return to Charlotte — but did have five turnovers and fouled out just before the end of regulation.

"It’s still a work in progress," Wallace said of his integration into the Blazers system. "We’ve just got to take this game and learn from it."

Even with the loss, Portland is 5-3 since trading for Wallace and, at 37-28, good enough for sixth in the brutal Western Conference. Charlotte, on the other hand, is just 2-6 since the trade. But, in a watered down Eastern Conference, the Bobcats are tied with the Indiana Pacers for the eighth and final playoff spot.