Celtics 119, Hornets 80

 

Utter domination in Charlotte. Jayson Tatum, back after resting up during the last game, dropped 34 on the Hornets, including 15 points on 5-8 shooting from outside. White and Pritchard were hot from outside, too, both going 4-6, and Hauser was 3-5 on threes, scoring all of his buckets from downtown.

The Celtics outscored the Hornets 40-20 in the first quarter, 30-19 in the second, and 26-18 in the third, It wasn't until the fourth quarter when the bench was playing and Mike Conley and Ron Harper were getting minutes that the Hornets managed a 23-23 period.

Naz Reid, Charlotte's top scorer last night, had only 14 points on the evening.

The Celtics (7-2) are still in second place in the Atlantic Division to the 76ers, but after last night's 119-95 Philly loss to the Cavs, Boston is only a half-game back. 

Sunday night, the Celtics go to Milwaukee to play the Bucks, who they beat, 109-102, on Wednesday night in the Garden after blowing a 21-point lead at the half. Tip-off is at 8:00 pm Eastern. After that, the Celtics and the Sixers will finally have their much-anticipated first meeting of the season on Tuesday night (8:00 pm) in Philadelphia.