CHARLOTTE -- This one was over just a few minutes into the game. As soon as Jayson Tatum nailed his first pull-up three, the Charlotte Hornets had to know they were in for a long night.
Injuries have been plaguing the Hornets all season, and the Boston Celtics took advantage of that on Friday night. They went in with the right attitude and took care of business the way they needed to.
There was no messing around. No bad shots. No sloppy play. If the Celtics made a mistake, they corrected it on the very next possession. It was a textbook performance.
By the end of the night, the Hornets weren't just short-handed -- they were thoroughly beaten down. And as if that weren't enough, Celtics fans lined the entire arena. Spectrum Center might have been at least 40% green on Friday night.
Boston left Charlotte with a 119-80 victory, pushing them to 2-0 in the NBA Cup. It was pure dominance all night long by Tatum and the Celtics.
Up: Jayson Tatum
It's Charlotte. It has to be Charlotte. I don't know what the Hornets did to Tatum, but whenever he goes down to Charlotte, a fire lights up underneath him.
For what felt like the first time this season, Tatum caught fire from three. His first shot of the game was a pull-up three coming off a Neemias Queta screen -- his bread and butter from seasons past. He drained it, and from there, it was easy money.
The game came easily for Tatum. Every shot was smooth. Every drive was confident. Every pass was perfectly on time. There was nothing Charlotte could do to slow him down.
Tatum only had to play 29:02. He finished the game with 34 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists while shooting 9-of-16 from the field, 5-of-8 from deep range, and 11-of-11 from the free-throw line.
Down: The Hornets
What a rough season for Charlotte. The Hornets were dealing with a ton of injuries in this game, including what seems to be a concerning hamstring injury for Kon Knueppel.
Then, to make matters worse, Brandon Miller exited Friday night with an injury. That left Charlotte with very little shot creation outside of Coby White.
The Hornets' defense was rough, too. They switched a lot, which gave Boston (and Tatum, in particular) plenty of easy options to attack on that end of the court.
Ryan Kalkbrenner's drop defense also opened up a ton of options, but primarily the pick-and-roll and pull-up threes. Charlotte just couldn't do anything to slow down the Celtics.
Charlotte shot 27-of-92 (29.3%) from the field and 11-of-50 (22.0%) from behind the 3-point line. It was as ugly as ugly gets.
Up: Derrick White
Despite his shooting struggles, Derrick White has been having a solid season. Not an incredible year, but a solid one. Well, on Friday night, everything came together perfectly.
White's 3-ball was on fire. His float game was there, too, as the Hornets' defense gave him consistent lanes to the rim. Add in his usual rock-solid ball-handling, and it was a solid night for White across the board.
These are the types of games that remind you how effective an offensive player White is at his peak. When everything is flowing. That's what Boston needs from him.
White ended the night with 18 points, four rebounds, and five assists on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from distance.
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