BSJ Game Report: Celtics 130, Hornets 118 - Tatum's 51 gives Celtics 7th straight win

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Charlotte Hornets, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics opened up a 13-point lead after the first quarter thanks to a monster first from Jayson Tatum in all phases of the game. Malcolm Brogdon and the bench unit came in and added to the lead while Tatum sat until mid-way through the quarter. But the Hornets got hot and cut a 17-point lead down to 6, but Boston carried an 11-point lead into the half. Both teams went back and forth in the third, and a late Charlotte run got it to six heading into the fourth. Their run continued, cutting the lead down to 2, but Tatum was too good, dropping 51 en route to their seventh straight win.

Box Score

HEADLINES

MVP! MVP!: Tatum was unstoppable in this game. He shot 15-23 from the field, 7-12 from 3, and 14-14 from the line. Just a ho hum 65/58/100 shooting split afternoon for Tatum. Much, much more on his day coming up.  

Like Saturday, but flipped: The Hornets were super confident and they got hot from deep, with LaMelo Ball going nuts. But the Celtics turned things around with a big putback and a signature possession thanks to a few different offensive rebounds that ended with a bucket. That was Saturday’s second quarter and today’s fourth, and the Celtics were able to close each of those quarters strong. The only difference is in this one Tatum hit a bunch of 3-pointers. 

Another all-around contribution: This is becoming the norm for Boston, and it’s a wonderful development for them. Marcus Smart pitched in nicely in the first quarter. Malcolm Brogdon had a big second quarter. Al Horford provided a spark in the third, and Derrick White was one of the keys in the fourth. People might get sick of me saying this, but I’ll repeat it every time because it’s true: Make the right plays and the right guys get the right stats. In the end, a solid night of basketball all around. 

Assists to Turnovers … again: Just like last game, another monster ratio: 34 assists to 11 turnovers. 

TURNING POINT

The Hornets had cut the lead down to two at the 8:59 mark, 100-98, when Derrick White drew a foul on a 3-pointer. That triggered an 8-2 run capped by a two-offensive rebound possession that lasted 37 seconds. 

Boston out-scored Charlotte 30-16 when Tatum’s 51st points fell, a span of 8:31. 

FIVE UP 

Jayson Tatum: The Hornets really wanted to stop him. They really tried very hard. They blitzed him, but he gave it up when they did. They gave him space to shoot, and he buried shots. They played up on him, and he drove it. Anyone watching basketball for the first time would look at Tatum and think he was the best player ever based on this game. 

Malcolm Brogdon: This was more for his first half, where he scored all 16 of his points. He helped Boston build a 17 point lead. He was 0-5 in the second half, but I think he was good overall. It’s good to see the 3-pointer falling for him again. He went 4-8 from deep in this one. 

Derrick White: He was consistently good, and his jumper looks like it’s back. He hit big shots, got to the line (6-6 FT), and dished a team-high 8-assists. He showed no ill effects of the neck sprain, which seems to have just been a stinger. 

Luke Kornet: He was big in the third quarter especially, but I think he’s continuing to show that Boston is fine at the big spot and that any trade deadline shopping should be for someone on the wing. 

Grant Williams: I’m mostly doing this because he had 6 assists in the first half and we never see that from him … just like we probably should never see him attempt another floater. 

TWO DOWN

Payton Pritchard: He couldn't have the same impact he did on Saturday. He wasn’t hitting shots, and he committed a couple of fouls, including a reckless closeout that led to the Hornets cutting the lead down to 2 in the fourth. 

Sam Hauser: He got the cleanest look he’ll ever get in his career in this game and while it’s unfair to say those have to fall all the time, those are the shots he has to hit basically all the time. If he’s not going to knock down wide open catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, then he’s not going to help. He and Pritchard (both -3) were the only +/- negatives in this game. 

TOP PLAYS

TWO TAKES KARALIS MIGHT REGRET LATER

- I can’t believe I even believed Joe Mazzulla a little bit when he said Robert Williams might not start: You got us Joe. Nice one. 

About a month ago, when the question was posed to Mazzulla about Williams in the starting lineup, he casually suggested that they might not do that. 

Maybe the Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown injuries of the past week or so can be framed as starting him out of necessity, but it might be time to admit that this was always the plan because Williams as the starter has been awesome. 

Early on in this game, he was an outlet for guys when they attacked. Later on, he was a pick-setting facilitator. Whatever they need him to do, he’s doing it, and then he’s impacting other non-box score things like spacing and opponent decisions on offense. 

There was never any reason to expect anything less than Williams making his team better in his return.

- Another new way to win: Add it to the list of ways the Celtics are winning games now. Their seven-game win streak has included a few ways to win, as I’ve mentioned a few times recently. Now add “Tatum gets hot from 3 on his way to 51” to the list. A sign of a great team is winning when the defense takes something big away, but another sign is when they try like hell to take something big away and it doesn’t work at all. 

Next up: The Celtics head home for a game against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday before going back out on the road.