BOSTON — From the very start of the game, the Boston Celtics outdueled the Charlotte Hornets. Or, more specifically, Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard outdueled the Hornets.
It all started with Tatum. He was unstoppable from the moment he touched the ball. First, there were drives into the paint. He snaked through Charlotte's defense, driving hard to the rim past Ryan Kalkbrenner. Then, the outside shots started to fall.
Tatum felt good. Like everything he shot was going to go in. It was clear based on the shots he was taking (and making). In the third quarter, he nailed a heavily contested mid-range shot and was laughing to himself while running back on defense. He knew better than anyone that he was in the zone.
And Pritchard was right there alongside him. With Jaylen Brown and Derrick White sidelined, Tatum and Pritchard transformed into an elite scoring duo. One that Charlotte had no answer for.
By halftime, Tatum had 20 points, two rebounds, and three assists, and Pritchard had 13 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Jordan Walsh, who earned the start on Sunday night, gave Boston some quality hustle minutes. His defense and rebounding lifted Boston up, and Baylor Scheierman did the same off the bench.
Though Scheierman got burned on a few defensive possessions, his ball-handling and three-point shooting provided Tatum and Pritchard with some much-needed support.
But just in case two solid performances from young wings weren't enough, Ron Harper Jr. chipped in, too. He exited the game (and returned) with a right ankle sprain, but when he was on the court, he did a little bit of everything. Harper drove to the rim well, utilized his active hands on defense, rose up for rebounds, and even nailed a three.
Even Neemias Queta played well, outmuscling Moussa Diabate and Kalkbrenner down low.
Everything went swimmingly for the Celtics. Until it didn't.
There's a reason that the Hornets have been one of the best teams in the league this season. And the start of the fourth quarter showed it. LaMelo Ball caught fire from three-point range, and within the first four minutes of the fourth, Charlotte had cut Boston's lead to nine.
Joe Mazzulla called a timeout with 8:34 to go, and the Celtics settled down. And that may be an understatement.
After the timeout, the Celtics' offense locked back in to what was working up to that point. They got themselves easy buckets around the rim, and that helped Tatum refind his groove.
With 5:57 to go, Tatum nailed a pull-up three and signaled to the crowd as if to say, 'Get these guys off the court.'
From then on, it was relatively smooth sailing. The Celtics cruised to a big-time win in Charlotte.
Big winner: This was the exact type of game Tatum needed. Everything looked easy. Obviously, the fact that he was making shots was great, especially on a night when Brown was out, but even just his movements looked comfortable.
There wasn't much second-guessing. Every time Tatum saw a chance to attack, he took it, whether it was a drive to the basket or a pull-up three over a gap in the defense.
Shot selection is one Tatum-centered conversation. His confidence and attack mindset are separate. And on Sunday night, Tatum was moving like the guy who has made four straight All-NBA First Teams.
Ouch, tough one: The way Boston got out of its fourth-quarter funk was impressive. It showed resilience. But the way they fell into it was less than ideal.
The Celtics abandoned the offensive principles that had gotten them to that point. Charlotte started throwing a bit of extra pressure at Tatum, and the Celtics reverted to standstill offense.
In turn, that allowed the Hornets to get out in transition, and they capitalized on those opportunities. Runs are going to happen in the NBA, and the response is the most important thing, but it still wasn't a great stretch for Boston.
The big picture: For the third straight game, the Celtics picked up a huge win over one of the hottest teams in the NBA.
The Hornets have been rapidly rising up the Eastern Conference standings. But Boston walked into their home and absolutely dominated.
If the Celtics can get this version of Tatum once Brown and White return to the lineup, they will be a very hard team to beat in the postseason.