The Charlotte Hornets’ core was explosive on Sunday beating the Boston Celtics 125-104, with four players scoring over 20 points.
Devonte Graham led the Hornets with 24 points and nine assists. P.J. Washington added 22 points and 12 rebounds. Terry Rozier scored 21 points and had 11 assists. Miles Bridges continued his hot streak with 20 points, having a great month of April.
Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 20 points apiece. Jayson Tatum had 19 points and 11 rebounds, but he struggled from the field throughout the game.
The Hornets came out on fire hitting 83% of their shots, including 6 of 7 from deep, to build a 14 point lead, 26-12. They never took their foot off the gas. Charlotte had great ball movement and player movement, with a season high 39 assists. They only relinquished the lead for 15 seconds at the beginning of the first quarter.
Boston’s defense was poor to start the second quarter. Kemba Walker (back injury) and Evan Fournier had to leave the game for a short time, but fortunately, Walker was able to return, but Fournier was not. The Hornet’s Jalen McDaniels and Washington were responsible for most of the offense in the quarter. Rozier had a career high eight assists in the first half. The Celtics were able to cut into the lead, making the score 63-52 at the half.
Washington started the third quarter hot from 3-point range. Halfway through the quarter, Graham and Rosier combined for 18 assists. The Celtics were able to make a mini-run, pulling within nine points. Bridges hit a 32 foot 3-pointer to give the Hornets a 12 point lead, 100-88.
The Hornets came out in the fourth quarter looking to put the Celtics away. Boston didn’t make a field goal for the first three minutes of the quarter. The game was so one-sided, that Celtics coach Brad Stevens decided to wave the white flag and empty the bench with 3:30 left in the game.
The final score was 125-104. The Hornets played well against a great team. Let’s see what they do against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
