Final: Cetics 140, Hornets 105 - Start to finish domination

Game 21: Celtics (-10.5) vs. Charlotte Hornets, 7:30 p.m., TD Garden, NBCS Boston

Injuries: 

Boston: Danilo Gallinari, Robert Williams, Al Horford (back), Jaylen Brown (questionable, neck)Charlotte: LaMelo Ball (ankle), Gordon Hayward (shoulder), Cody Martin (quad), Dennis Smith, Jr. (ankle)

Hornets probable starters: Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre, Mason Plumlee, PJ Washington, Jalen McDaniels

Refs: Karl Lane (#77), Brent Barnaky (#36), Jason Goldenberg (#35)

A little something about this game: Boston has won eight straight games at home. The Hornets are 3-8 on the road, but they’ve won two in a row, demonstrating that they can still be dangerous despite their record and missing players.

How Boston wins: Don’t let up because of the injuries. It might actually be a good thing if Jaylen Brown misses the game as well as Al Horford because it will give Boston less of a reason to relax and let down. The depth is strong enough for the C’s to still be really good and the energy from the guys who don’t normally get opportunities could be enough to make quick work of the Hornets. 

How Charlotte wins: Terry Rozier will have to go off. He has to be one of the two lead scorers, then the Hornets will need either Oubre or Washington to support him from the starting lineup, and a random bench guy to be a killer. Kai Jones gave them good minutes and posted a career-best 9 points and 12 boards and Theo Maledon had 14/7/3 against Minnesota. The are hungry players looking for opportunities there. 

Things I’m looking for:

- Marcus Smart staying in control: I’ll admit, I’m surprised he only took eight shots with Tatum out. I think he might feel more compelled to shoot more if Brown is also out tonight, so let’s just see how judicious he is. 

- Luke Kornet playing bigger minutes: Yesterday I proclaimed his performance good enough to earn his regular spot in the rotation. Today I’m afraid that too many minutes might be asking too much of him. OR … maybe he’s comfortable enough now that he’ll be fine. 

One thing we might see less of is the long-distance shot contesting.

"Guys are getting better at attacking it," Joe Mazzulla said before the game. "They wait for him to come back down and they drive, and so it puts him in difficult spots defensively. It's something that people are aware of, so he's got to get better."

Follow along below or in the comments during the game, chime in, and let’s have fun.