CHARLOTTE — Charlotte forward Gerald Wallace went through a full practice Thursday, a day after he was injured in the Bobcats’ season-opening loss to Indiana.

Wallace, who worked with the first unit, did not have a concussion and is expected to play Friday at Memphis.

“I think their main focus was how my head was feeling,” Wallace said. “They just wanted to make sure I didn’t have a concussion or brain damage or anything. They said as long as that was fine, I was good to go.”

Wallace, the Bobcats’ leading scorer last season, left in the second quarter Wednesday with dizziness and a sore neck and back after hitting his head on the floor following a flagrant foul by Danny Granger.

He was going in for a dunk when Granger swiped at the ball from behind, catching Wallace’s arms. Wallace hit the floor headfirst and was attended to for several minutes before getting to his feet.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle went into the Bobcats’ locker room after the game to check on Wallace and Granger apologized, saying he hadn’t been trying to hurt him.

Coach Bernie Bickerstaff was surprised to see Wallace practicing one day after such a nasty fall.

“That is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I guess they don’t call him the ‘rubber band man’ for nothing,” Bickerstaff said.

Wallace led the Bobcats in scoring last season at 15.2 points per game and became the first NBA player in 14 years to average more than two blocks and two steals a game. He thinks he should be ready to play against the Grizzlies.

“I am used to playing sore and used to playing with my body banged up,” Wallace said.

Bobcats assistant coach Bickerstaff pleads guilty to DWI

John-Blair Bickerstaff has pleaded guilty to driving while impaired.

Bickerstaff, the son of Bobcats head coach and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff, was given a suspended sentence Wednesday in Mecklenburg District Court and ordered to complete 24 hours of community service as result of his July 19 arrest. He also lost his driver’s license for a year, but was given a restricted license for driving to work.

Bickerstaff’s attorney George Laughrun said Thursday a charge of failing to stop for a police blue light and siren was dismissed.

“John-Blair Bickerstaff is a fine young man who made a serious lapse in judgment,” Bobcats owner Bob Johnson said in a statement. “We will support him and work with him to ensure this isolated incident does not recur.”

Bickerstaff, 27, is the youngest assistant coach in the NBA. He was on the bench for Charlotte’s season-opener Wednesday night, the day of his court hearing.

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