Tatum, Celtics Overcome Slow Start to Down Hornets
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - In front of a sea of green, the Boston Celtics managed to overcome a slow start to take care of the struggling Charlotte Hornets Saturday night 122-106, claiming the first of the two-game set in the Queen City.
Boston has the NBA's most potent offense, so for the Hornets to stay in it early, they needed to make smart decisions with the ball and run efficient offense and they did exactly that. Behind a 20-point first half from LaMelo Ball, the Hornets had a 66-62 lead at the break.
Charlotte opened the second quarter on a 14-3 run to take a 48-34 lead, forcing Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla to put the game on pause with a timeout. It wasn't until late in the quarter when the Celtics finally climbed back into within two scores.
Boston showed a ton of hustle and effort to muster together some second-chance opportunities as they came away with a loose ball that nearly everyone on the court went for. Malcolm Brogdon capped off the possession with a three. A few minutes later, the Celtics grabbed three offensive rebounds in one possession, leading to a Robert Williams III layup.
Boston fell in love with the three-ball from the get-go, attempting 31 shots beyond the arc through the first 24 minutes of play. In fact, 60% of their shots in the first half came from deep.
On the other end, Charlotte emphasized getting downhill and challenging elite shot-blocker Robert Williams III time and time again. That aggressiveness from the backcourt duo of Ball and Terry Rozier helped the Hornets to 36 points in the paint.
In the opening minutes of the third, the C's went on an 11-2 run fueled by the three-ball to grab their first lead since the first quarter, 75-72. This is where the game began to turn considering Boston shot 14/26 from the field in the frame compared to Charlotte hitting just 8/20 field goal attempts. Much of that can be attributed to Jayson Tatum catching fire after a slow start to the night, scoring 17 of Boston's 33 points in the quarter.
The Hornets will meet the Celtics once again on Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. EST before heading back on the road for another four-game road trip beginning in Houston on Wednesday.
1ST: CHA 34-31
BOS: 10/22 FG | 6/14 3FG | 9 REB | 9 AST | 2 TO | 6 PIP
CHA: 13/21 FG | 4/8 3FG | 11 REB | 8 AST | 2 TO | 18 PIP
2ND: CHA 66-62
BOS: 22/51 FG | 12/31 3FG | 23 REB | 18 AST | 4 TO | 16 PIP
CHA: 26/45 FG | 6/15 3FG | 22 REB | 14 AST | 4 TO | 36 PIP
3RD: BOS 95-85
BOS: 36/77 FG | 17/45 3FG | 37 REB | 27 AST | 5 TO | 32 PIP
CHA: 34/65 FG | 8/22 3FG | 32 REB | 19 AST | 9 TO | 46 PIP
4TH: BOS wins 122-106
BOS: 47/99 FG | 19/53 3FG | 46 REB | 36 AST | 7 TO | 48 PIP
CHA: 41/88 FG | 8/27 3FG | 46 REB | 21 AST | 11 TO | 60 PIP
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