Charlotte Hornets Fall to the Boston Celtics in Home Finale, 121-114

Nicolas Batum and Kemba Walker combined for 53 points but it wasn’t enough for the Charlotte Hornets to take down Isaiah Thomas and the Boston Celtics.

The Charlotte Hornets (36-44) were defeated by the Boston Celtics (51-29) as they dropped their regular season home finale. Steve Clifford’s side has now lost three straight and with this defeat, they have been officially eliminated from playoff contention. Kemba and Nic put up a good fight but IT led the visitors late in the fourth quarter.

Ramon Sessions and Johnny O’Bryant both sat out once again as they continue to nurse their ailments. Charlotte’s bench was without Marco Belinelli in this one as the Italian was ruled out because of a left finger strain. In the final minutes, Kemba went down with what looked to be a left knee injury. He stayed down for a bit but walked off the court under his own power. The extent of the injury is unclear.

Game Story and Turning Point

This game was a rollercoaster for the Hornets as they were in control early on, then down double-digits for most of the game. Charlotte managed to take the lead in the fourth quarter thanks to a 46-20 run after being down by as many as 19 points in the third period. The home team led 104-97 with 6:37 left in the game but Boston closed the game by going on a 24-10 run led by Thomas who scored nine points down the stretch.

Who Stepped Up

Nicolas Batum led the Hornets as he finished with 31 points which tied his season-high. He also added eight rebounds and three assists. Kemba Walker struggled with his shot going 7-19 from the field but he did score 23 points to go along with eight assists. Jeremy Lamb led the second unit as he chipped in 17 points off of the bench.

Cody Zeller nearly recorded a double-double as he had 12 points and nine boards on the night. Frank Kaminsky quietly had a nice all-around game with eight points, five rebounds and seven assists. Marvin Williams only managed to score five points in 28 minutes while Miles Plumlee failed to score in his 11 minutes of action.

The Celtics were led by Isaiah Thomas who scored a game-high 32 points. Although he had six assists, he did also turn the ball over six times. Al Horford filled the stat sheet with 16 points, seven assists and four boards. Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder each scored 15 in this one while Kelly Olynyk grabbed a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Play of the Game:

Tweet of the Game:

The Charlotte Hornets have officially been eliminated from playoff contention.
— Jerry Stephens III 🌱 (@JR_Steph1) April 9, 2017

"Quick Stings"

Kemba recorded his 55th 20+ point game of the season.
For only the 11th time this year, both Batum and Walker each scored over 20 points.
Kemba moved past Glen Rice for the 2nd most total points scored in a single season in franchise history with 1,827.
The Celtics scored a season-high 71 points in the first half.
Steve Clifford was ejected for the first time in his career in this one.

With the loss, the Hornets were swept by the Celtics in their season series. Boston took all four matchups this year as Charlotte lost by an average of 7.7 points.

Next: Hornets Should Have Sight Set on Miles Bridges

In their next outing, the Charlotte Hornets will travel to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks for the third and final time this season. The winner of this game will take the season series as the two teams split their first two meetings. Now being eliminated from playoff contention, Charlotte will be playing for pride sake.

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