The Charlotte Hornets fell short to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, 120-111. This was a devastating loss for the Hornets’ playoff positioning. In the early stages of the game, the Hornets seemed to be a step slow, but they found a way to make it interesting heading into the fourth quarter.
In the first quarter, the Hornets had some peaks and valleys. Their shooting was sub-par, 32% from the floor. The entire team was outscored by Jaylen Brown, 20-19 and they were man-handled on the boards, 15-6 going into the second quarter.
Charlotte showed some fight in the second quarter. They trimmed a 20 point lead down to 11 going into halftime. The defense started to show some signs of life as they forced the Celtics into tough shots and turnovers. Once again, P.J. Washington and Miles Bridges continued to play outstanding basketball after a quiet first quarter. Cody Zeller was a surprise coming off the bench, contributing 9 points. He was able to use his size against Boston’s smaller players.
Devante Graham had impressive third quarter, with a blistering 17 points. Even with Graham’s great play, it wasn’t enough to overcome Boston and get over the hump. Terry Rozier was quiet for the second straight game. In the fourth quarter, however, he was able to provide some energy and scoring punch. Rozier ended the game 4 of 18 from the field with 15 points.
The defense for the Hornets was inconsistent, they could only show flashes. Boston had great ball movement throughout the night. The Hornets could not control the Celtics rebounding (54-33), partly due to Tristan Thompson’s offensive rebounds.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum had 38 and 35 points for the Celtic respectively. Devonte Graham had a team high 25 points, while P.J. Washington and Miles Bridges each added 19 points for the Hornets.
The Hornets fall two games below .500, 30-32 on the season. Charlotte looks to get back on track when they play a young, talented Detroit Pistons team on Saturday night
