While the Celtics needed to scrap against the Hornets, they got the job done to avoid a losing streak. The C’s beat the Hornets 124-109 on Friday in Charlotte, pulling away at the end against a young, hungry team. Boston improved to 5-1 while Charlotte dropped to 2-3 on the season.
The C’s went up early, though the Hornets refused to go away. Boston had a 15-point lead midway through the second quarter. But as seen in the modern NBA, those double-digit leads don’t mean too much — especially against a healthy 3-point shooting team like the Hornets.
The Hornets kept up the pressure throughout most of the game. But the C’s pulled away at the end for the victory, including a huge run to get the double-digit lead. Notably, former Celtics forward Grant Williams was ejected with 2:02 left in the fourth quarter after a flagrant-2 foul on Jayson Tatum .
The Hornets ended up imploding, allowing the C’s to go on a 13-4 run to close the game after multiple flagrant fouls. The C‘s were without Al Horford (load management) and Kristaps Porzingis (surgery rehab) for Friday‘s game. That meant reserve big Luke Kornet got his first start of the season in a similar look to the preseason.
The C’s are prepared to be without Horford and Porzingis some games — that’s why they have their trio of Kornet, Neemias Queta and Xavier Tillman. Tatum had 32 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics. Jaylen Brown added 25 points and six rebounds, though his shooting has cooled.
LaMelo Ball.