The Charlotte Hornets, led by Terry Rozier, Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball, got a resounding victory over the Boston Celtics, 111-102, on Wednesday.
The Hornets got off to a slow start, especially in the turnover department. Ball had four turnovers in the opening quarter. Charlotte was still able to convert their shots in the paint. On the defensive side of the court, they struggled to contain Boston, allowing them to get easy layups and to retrieve offensive rebounds. At the end of the first quarter, the Hornets trailed 27-25.
Kelly Oubre Jr., who returned to action after missing four games from COVID-19 protocol, brought a lot of intensity to the Hornets on offense and defense from the moment he entered the game. He scored 10 points in a hurry and got a couple of deflections on the defensive end.
Jalen McDaniels also came off the bench with a hot hand. The Hornets started to find their groove offensively, as they built a small lead. They went on a 10-0 run and pulled out to a double figure lead. The Hornets played lockdown defense on the Celtics, neutralizing their offense to 3-of-14 from the field. The Hornets led by eight at the halftime break, 56-48.
The teams traded baskets for the first few minutes of the third quarter. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown seemingly played a two-man game, while the Hornets had a more balanced attack. Two straight Hornets’ possessions were capped off by Rozier three-pointers from Ball offensive rebounds, that put them up by 14 points, 75-61. He hit another shot from downtown before Oubre joined the party. At the end of three quarters, the Hornets had a 12 point advantage, 86-74.
Charlotte missed four straight shots to start the fourth, as the Celtics trimmed the lead in half, in two minutes of game time, which forced a Hornets time out. Boston cut the lead even further, 91-86, before the Hornets started to show some life. Ball connected on a corner three and Bridges made two spectacular layups, going around Brown. A couple of possessions later, Oubre splashed in a three, to put the Hornets up by ten, with 4:55 left to play. Bridges made a spectacular dunk, but the Hornets failure to get back on defense allowed the Celtics to get their own transition game ignited with a Tatum dunk.
The Celtics threatened to make a late run when the Hornets suffered a defensive breakdown, leaving Al Horford wide open for a three, making the score 102-96. Ball and Rozier answered right back with three-pointers to almost surely put the game away, but it was not that easy.
Boston got a wide open three from Dennis Schroeder, then Rozier turned the ball over in the back court. Schroeder hit his second three-point bomb on the Celtics next possession. Rozier was unfazed and hit a dagger three to win the game.
“To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” Rozier said. “We just want to keep going. We’re not satisfied. We’ve got to stay humble and keep on having fun and playing out there. That’s the main thing.”
Rozier led the Hornets with 28 points. He also had four boards and 10 dimes. Bridges contributed 22 points, with seven rebounds and two helpers. Ball had a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Oubre had 18 points off the bench, with three rebounds.
Schroder had a team high 24 points, with seven rebounds and five assists. Brown scored 21 points, with six rebounds and six assists. Horford had a double-double, with 13 points and 10 rebounds along with four assists. Tatum was plagued by foul trouble and finished with just 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting in 35 minutes.
The Celtics host the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. The Hornets return home on Friday to play the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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