The Charlotte Hornets dominated both sides of the ball and showcased elite team basketball on the way to a win over the Boston Celtics, 125-104.
The Celtics have now dropped 3 of their last 4 games. They are now tied with the Heat for the sixth seed in the East, one spot from being part of the play-in tournament.
Six different Hornets scored 12 or more points, including 4 who had 20 or more. Four separate Hornets dropped 5 or more dimes, led by Terry Rozier, who had 11 by himself. The Celtics, on the other hand, had no single-player hit 5 assists.
As a team, the Hornets made 47 field goals on 39 assists, a season-high. They more than doubled the Celtics’ 18 team assists.
Hornets Sting Early
Right from the tip, the Hornets made their presence felt. They made 9 of their first 11 attempts from the field and quickly jumped to a double-digit lead over the Celtics.
After the first frame, 6 different Hornets had recorded a made field goal. Rozier had dropped 6 assists already. Eleven of their 13 buckets had been assisted.
Halftime was no different, seeing the Celtics down by eleven. Four Hornets had already notched double-digits in scoring. DeVonte Graham, P.J. Washington, and Rozier had each knocked down 3 threes.
Graham and Rozier combined for 15 first-half assists, out-assisting the Celtics by themselves.
The Celtics still managed to shoot above 40% from distance, but it was their defense that caused them problems. They allowed the Hornets to top 50% from both the field and three.
Kemba Goes Down
With 8:18 left in the first half, Celtics point guard Kemba Walker headed to the locker room. While defending a Rozier three, he seemed to tweak his back, despite making no contact on the play.
As head coach Brad Stevens called timeout, Walker ran directly into the locker room, clearly in a some sort of pain.
Only 5 game minutes later, however, Walker was right back out of the locker room. After a quick discussion with Stevens, he immediately entered the game.
Even with his injury scare, Walker still found his way to 20 points in the contest, though he shot 7-17 from the field.
Celtics Make 3rd Quarter Push
The Celtics were able to find life in the third quarter. Marcus Smart led the way, scoring 12 points in the quarter. Walker scored 10, and Jaylen Brown scored 8 as the team scored 36 points in the third.
Defense, however, was still a big issue, as they allowed 37 in the quarter. Four different Hornets topped 18 points through three, and three had made 7 field goals. Miles Bridges’ buzzer-beating three stretched the team’s lead to 12 entering the final frame.
Charlotte Responds
It didn’t take much in the fourth for the Hornets to bury the Celtics once and for all. Bridge’s deep three to end the third seemed to deflate the visiting Celtics.
The Celtics scored only 16 points in the quarter. Jayson Tatum was the only starter to score any points at all in the fourth, and the Hornets continued to roll.
Up Next
The Hornets will host the Bucks on Tuesday at 7 p.m., when they will look to push their win streak to 3 games.
The Celtics will go back home to face the Thunder at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, as they look to get back to their winning ways as playoff basketball looms ever closer.
