BSJ Game Report: Celtics 124, Hornets 109 - C's pull away late amidst Hornets meltdown

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

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics used a 28-9 run, triggered by Jrue Holiday and carried by Jayson Tatum, to build a 15-point cushion after a back-and-forth start. Jaylen Brown was aggressive in rebuilding the lead after a Charlotte run, but the Hornets made another one to cut it to four at the half. Boston only added two to the lead, mostly because Tre Mann and the Hornets bench out-worked them. The Celtics pulled away late, much of it at the line, as the Hornets melted down. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Weird finish: Over a span of 1:28, Grant Williams and Miles Bridges both got ejected and LaMelo Ball committed a flagrant landing spot foul that turned the end of the game into a joke. It was a six-point game with 3:16 on the clock. Less than two minutes later, it was 17. 

- Up and down defense: Joe Mazzulla will obviously take quarters of 25, 19, and 23 points from his defense. Giving up the 42 in the second was not great, but even within those low-scoring quarters, I think Boston had stretches where they needed to focus a bit more.

- Dose of their own medicine: I’ll get into this more a little later, but the Hornets nearly pulled this game off by using Mazzulla’s own methods against him. Charles Lee was prepared for what Boston was doing and if it wasn’t for a massive free throw disparity, Charlotte almost pulled it off.

TURNING POINT

The Celtics went on an 11-2 run when it was 100-99 Boston to build a double-digit lead. It was shortly after that run that Williams trucked Tatum and the game fell apart. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Attacking a little more: I think Boston over-corrected a little early in the game, but we saw a little bit of a more judicious approach to shot selection from Tatum and Brown. They still took 15 combined 3-pointers and only made three (all by Tatum), but they were much more focused on attacking the undersized Hornets. For the first time this season, the Celtics finished the game on top of the points in the paint battle (56-44). 

- Neemias Queta: He’s a beast on the offensive glass and he took advantage of his size to grab four offensive rebounds and go 6-6 from the line, including a monster poster dunk. 

He was just the spark of defensive energy the Celtics needed for most of his minutes. He did have one bad stretch, which is going to happen sometimes, but he stepped up when the Celtics needed minutes with Al Horford out. 

- Jordan Walsh: He came in and hit two big 3-pointers early in the game, making the most of a six-minute stint. 

- Attacking Lamelo Ball: That should be something Boston goes after relentlessly. Brown did it with a good amount of success and the rest of the Celtics should follow suit. 

- Jayson Tatum bounce back: 32 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals on the night. The five turnovers were not great and a few of them were bad, but he was more in control in this game. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Jaylen Brown’s shooting: He’s 1-21 from 3 over his last three games. It’s a long season so he’ll have a stretch where he’s 15-23 or something, so it will even out at some point. But there's no doubt he’s in a bit of a slump here. 

- Tre Mann cooking: I don’t know what it is about him facing the Celtics. I don’t if he’s angling to join the Ish Smith All-Stars and become the next perennial thorn in Boston’s side, but he was incredible for long stretches. His defensive play where he ripped the ball from Derrick White was incredible. Maybe find a way to limit him tomorrow. 

- Offensive rebounds: They gave up 12 and had one possession where they gave Charlotte five chances at a bucket. The rebounding has to be better. 

HIGHLIGHTS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Charlotte almost out-Mazzulla’d Boston: This was about to be my column before the runaway Grant Williams train smashed into Tatum. 

The best way to hang with the Celtics is to go toe-to-toe with them from behind the line, and Charlotte did that very well. They were 19-48 from 3 (39.6%). The made more than the Celtics (13), took more (42), and shot a higher percentage (31%). 

That rarely happens. When it does, Boston is generally in trouble, but they happened to outscore Charlotte by 23 from the foul line to pull this game out. 

Charles Lee is a good coach and he’s learned a lot along the way, including from Mazzulla. When you’re coaching a team like Charlotte and have guys capable of hitting shots, you find a way to put them in position to take those and let them fly. 

There aren’t a lot of teams who can do that to Boston, but the Hornets, with their speed and shooting ability, will be a challenge.

- That said, they aren’t winning anything with LaMelo Ball: I understand his talent and appeal, but I would never want Ball on my team. I know people in Charlotte are saying this season is different, but the Ball I saw on the floor is a tremendous offensive talent without being a winning player. 

He scored 31 points and was a team-worst -17. He shoots ill-advised 3-pointers and lacks the poise necessary to lead an NBA winner. 

Throw Miles Bridges into the mix and I can’t even bring myself to watch their non-Celtics games. 

If Charles Lee is going to build a winning culture in Charlotte, those two guys have to go. 

Next up: The Celtics stay in Charlotte for the back-to-back Saturday night.