It wasn't pretty for most of the second half, but the Celtics managed to scrap their way back into the win column on Wednesday night in Charlotte with a 102-91 win over the Hornets.
After jumping out to a 20-point first half lead behind some sensational 3-point shooting (11-of-15 at one points), the C's saw their 20-point lead shrink to just one point by the end of the third quarter, as the team's shooting numbers fell off a cliff and the Hornets got into a rhythm. Brad Stevens managed to weather the storm by managing his shorthanded rotation well late, as the Celtics outscored the Hornets 26-16 in the fourth to pull away with the victory. Al Horford led the way with 20 points and 11 rebounds (his first 20-10 game as a Celtic) while Jayson Tatum scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. Kyrie Irving had a team-high 21 points.
Kemba Walker scored a game-high 24 points for the hosts, but scored just two points in the fourth quarter, largely thanks to some gritty defense by Shane Larkin.
The Celtics (28-10) are back in action Thursday night at the TD Garden against the Rockets.
GAME: No. 38 of 82
WHO: Celtics (27-10) vs. Hornets (12-21)
WHEN: 7:00 EST
WHERE: Spectrum Center
RADIO: 100.7 WZLX
TV: NBC Sports Boston
BOX SCORE: NBA.COM
Projected Starting Lineups:
Celtics
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes
Inactive list: Jaylen Brown, Semi Ojeleye and Marcus Morris are all out. Jabari Bird and Kadeem Allen are both with the team, so there will be 12 active players for the Celtics.
Hornets:
PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Nicolas Batum
SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
PF: Marvin Williams
C: Dwight Howard
Third Quarter Notes
- Pretty ugly offense overall for the Celtics in the third quarter. The hornets stepped up the intensity level on defense, forcing guys like Aron Baynes and Marcus Smart to shoot more, which didn't bode well for the C's offense.
- Kemba Walker really got going as well in the third quarter, finding his shot in the midrange, which turned him into a two-way threat at the rim as well.
- The penetration that Walker created allowed a steady processions to free throw line by the Hornets (17 total attempts in the frame).
- Things could have been much worse for Boston hadn't been for some great two-way play by Terry Rozier, who pushed the ball well in transition and had a couple nice strips of Walker.
- Irving looked to be out of gas on his jump shot by the end of the quarter.
- The defense let down a little bit (28 points allowed) but hot 3-point shooting helped the Celtics seize control of this game in the second quarter. They shot a ridiculous 63 percent from deep (7-of-11) in the frame), highlighted by three big makes from deep from Shane Larkin. Celtics made 11 3s in all in the first half, their most over 24 minutes since 1996.
- The good news about the sensational shooting? They came mostly on good ball movement and open looks from the corner. Marcus Smart and Kyrie Irving forced a couple of jumpers as the quarter wore on, but everything else came within the flow of the offense.
- Interesting and smart lineup choices by Brad Stevens for the bench unit. He stayed big for the first 24 minutes with a a combo of Horford/Baynes/Yabusele/Theis out there as a duo the entire time. Helped create a steadier defense overall.
- The Hornets really are an uninspiring team. Unless Kemba Walker is on, they just don't have much offensive creation or firepower. Easy to defend in the halfcourt.
- No Abdel Nader in the first half despite the C's not having any wings available on the roster outside of him.
- Hometown kid Michael Carter-Williams is having a really tough game (0-of-5) and season (27 percent shooting). Just can't seem to finish around the rim.
- Celtics with a pretty nice bounceback 12 minutes after an ugly finish to Christmas night on Monday.
- Kyrie Irving handled the heavy lifting on offense early, scoring himself (seven points) and setting up teammates (four assists) over the first 11 minutes, including Al Horford on a couple shots from downtown.
- Aron Baynes did a nice job frustrating Dwight Howard in the post and keeping him from wreaking too much havoc on the offensive glass.
- The Hornets had plenty of second chances (six offensive rebounds) but barely finished anything from close. They shot 26 percent in the opening frame.
- Marcus Smart left the game midway through the quarter to have his ankle re-taped, but returned to the bench quickly.
- Jayson Tatum was an absolute force in the final six minutes of the quarter on the offensive end, knocking down a jumper and making a pair of nice drives at the rim. Was a nice change of pace to see him as the featured option with the second unit.
- The Celtics and Hornets will face off for their second time this season tonight. Boston took down Charlotte back in November without Al Horford and Kyrie Irving in a dramatic come-from-behind win.
- Marcus Morris plans on returning to the lineup Thursday night against the Rockets on the second half of back-to-back.
- The Celtics have dropped three of four overall and are 8-6 in the month of December.