The visiting Charlotte Hornets already had their fate sealed prior to their matchup against the Boston Celtics. Without their two best players, LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, Buzz City could only hope that the C’s would tread lightly. However, a second-half surge resulted in a massive blowout win in the TD Garden in Boston, 130-94.
Going into halftime, the Hornets seemed like they’re holding their own against the second-seeded Celtics. Boston was only up by one, 54-53, with Charlotte matching every bit of their opponents’ energy. They shot well in the first two quarters and even held Jayson Tatum to five points in the first half.
Unfortunately, the Celtics, like the dominant team they are, went on a barrage of attacks during the third quarter. A 19-5 and 21-3 run in the third quickly turned the one point deficit into a huge double-digit lead. Eventually, the Celtics’s bench would take it up a notch, resulting in another victory in their homestand.
Tatum, who rested in the final period, finished with 16 points, 8 assists, and 8 rebounds.
38-year-old veteran Al Horford made a classic performance by putting up a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double as well as sinking 50% (3-of-6) of his attempts from three.
However, it was the two guys from the bench who lit the brightest in TD Garden. Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard combined for 42 points off the bench, and ignited 10 of Boston’s 23 made threes.
Ball and Bridges are still struggling with injuries, but the rest of the team actually played hard, which is a pretty good sign for the team. Anyway, the Charlotte Hornets fan base shouldn’t worry about not making the playoffs this year. After going down to 19-61, Charlotte could potentially lock in with the top 3 draft lottery in May. Not so bad after all!
Boston Achieves 60th Win Again
For the 15th time in franchise history, the Boston Celtics (60-21) achieved another 60-win season after their victory against Charlotte on Saturday. This is also the second time they had back-to-back seasons with 60 or more since 2007 to 2009, when they won their first championship in the 2000s with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo at the helm. Yet again, the Celtics have proven their unstoppable dominance in the league.
However, reaching 60 wins doesn’t mean they automatically win the NBA championship. There are quite a handful of 60-win teams in NBA history who didn’t even sniff the Finals. Some of those were the 2014-2015 Atlanta Hawks, 2016-2017 San Antonio Spurs with franchise-best 67-15, and the 2010-2011 Chicago Bulls with MVP Derrick Rose. But considering that this same Celtics roster already went to the Finals and took home the Larry O’Brien trophy, there’s no denying that they could actually do it all again. If Jaylen Brown returns to full health, the C’s are going to be unstoppable in the East.
