Final: Celtics 115, Hornets 101 - Jayson Tatum's 44, huge 4th quarter, puts Hornets away

GAME 67
Boston Celtics (39-27, 16-16 road, 5th East) vs. Charlotte Hornets (32-34, 16-16 home, T-9th East)
Spectrum Center
7:00 PM - NBC Sports Boston 

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Robert Williams

Charlotte: LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Miles Bridges, PJ Washington, Mason Plumlee

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Aaron Nesmith is still out with the sprained ankle

“It’s gonna be while still, the swelling and the pain,” Ime Udoka said. “It’s not necessarily a day-to-day thing. It’s gonna be some time, get the swelling down. I anticipate him getting some treatment, but it’s not something where we’re thinking he’s coming back tomorrow.”

- Isaiah Thomas is a Hornet. He’s in Charlotte on a 10-day contract. Al Horford, for one, will be glad to see him. 

“It's just a lot of respect for Isaiah,” he said. “He was one of the big reasons why I came to Boston … to see firsthand how much he cares about the game, and the fact that he's so resilient, and he loves to play basketball. He just does. And I'm just very happy to watch him get another opportunity and to be able to come out and show that he could still play.” 

- Charlotte has the league’s second-worst record on back-to-backs at 1-11. They played Brooklyn last night and lost. 

- Boston is favored by 7.5

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Charlotte’s tired legs (MAKE THEM RUN!): Charlotte did Boston a favor last night by coming back from a 30 point deficit against the Nets and making it somewhat of a game. They got it close enough where James Borrego felt like keeping his starters in might lead to them stealing the game, but they never really, truly challenged. 

The result was 39 minutes for Bridges and 37 for Rozier and PJ Washington. It’s going to be a lot to ask those guys to be quite as high energy in this one, especially if Boston makes them run early. The message to the Celtics here is simple: Don’t come in thinking they’ll just lay down for you. You make them lay down by playing great defense and opening up a big lead early. 

Charlotte takes 42.3 3-point attempts per game in their second night of back-to-backs, which means they are very happy to settle for jumpers. There's no need to go gambling for steals. Just stay in front of them and challenge their shots, and then box out on the back side and get out running.

2. Attack the middle: This is a staple of facing the Hornets. They have no rim protection whatsoever. Boston has had two off days. They got to Charlotte yesterday in the early evening. There is no excuse to settle for jumpers here. Every possession that doesn’t include some kind of paint attack is a wasted one to me. 

3. Bench vs. bench: Kelly Oubre and Montrezl Harrell are very capable of putting up some points off the bench. Boston has to make sure they're keeping those guys in check. The good news is that there's no real defense checking into the game for the Hornets, so the first two elements apply to the bench as well, especially Derrick White who can feast attacking the Hornets bench and Payton Pritchard, who can bomb away against overreacting defenders. 

GAME THREAD

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