Final: Celtics 109, Hornets 92 -- C's pull away behind big fourth quarter

It wasn’t pretty for the better part of 48 minutes but a dominant fourth quarter  from the C’s core and Enes Kanter helped put away the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday in a 109-92 victory for the visitors. Jayson Tatum scored 13 of his game-high 24 points in the first quarter but it was the stellar play by Gordon Hayward (21 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists), Kemba Walker (22 points, 7 assists) and Enes Kanter (13 points, 14 rebounds, career-high 6 blocks) in the second half which helped turn a tight game into a runaway for the shorthanded C’s. Boston improved to 10-6 on the road this season with the victory and swept the season series against the Hornets (3-0) with the win, taking home each game by an average of 20 points.

It was the third double-double of the season for Hayward and Kanter, which helped carry Boston’s offense despite missing Jaylen Brown (illness) in the win. The Celtics returns home now for two days off before hosting the Hawks at the Garden on Friday.

TWO UP

Jayson Tatum:  The third-year forward scored a career-high 39 points against the Hornets last Sunday and continued his hot scoring ways in the first quarter, going a perfect 5-of-5 from the field with 13 points in the opening frame. Three of those makes came from beyond the arc.

Gordon Hayward: The veteran bounced back from an ugly shooting night against the Raptors with a couple of nice finishes and a pair of 3s in the first half. He finished with 12 points in a team-high 19 minutes in the first half, an encouraging sign that he isn’t being limited by lingering soreness in his left foot.

TWO DOWN

Marcus Smart: He earned a spot start with Jaylen Brown sidelined but did not help Boston’s offense at all .He missed all five of his shots in the first half, including four from beyond the arc. Several of those were contested looks with plenty of time left in the shot clock, so he needs to tighten up his shot selection until he gets into a better rhythm.

Getting to the free throw line: The Hornets are one of the better teams in the league at avoiding sending teams to the line but the C’s managed a paltry four free throw attempts in the first half. A lack of aggression contributed to their subpar first half on the whole.

• Jaylen Brown did not make the trip to Charlotte after sitting out practice on Monday due to illness. Look for Marcus Smart to move into the starting five in his absence to help contain the Hornets backcourt.


• Boston's roster will only have 11 active players due to Brown's injury and Carsen Edwards being on a G-League assignment with the Red Claws. Rob Williams (hip) and Vincent Poirier (broken pinky) remain out until January.


• The Celtics are 2-0 against the Hornets this season with the two victories coming by an average of 23.5 points. Boston is also 14-1 against sub .500 teams this season.


• The Hornets have lost five straight games overall and now rank in the bottom six of the league on offense and defense.