Malik Monk scores 21 points as the Charlotte Hornets fall to the Boston Celtics

Despite Malik Monk‘s big scoring night, the Charlotte Hornets narrowly lost to the Boston Celtics for the second time this preseason.

The Charlotte Hornets (1-3) were defeated by the Boston Celtics (4-0) after their fourth-quarter comeback fell short. Malik Monk led the way for the home team but it wasn’t enough in the end. Other young players stepped up for the Hornets and actually led the late rally which Coach Clifford rewarded by keeping the bench unit in to close out the game.

Charlotte was a bit shorthanded as Nicolas Batum (elbow), Jeremy Lamb (groin), Michael Carter-Williams (knee soreness), Julyan Stone (hamstring), Treveon Graham (hamstring) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (personal reseasons). With all of the injuries, Steve Clifford decided to start Dwayne Bacon at the two, Marvin Williams at the three and Frank Kaminsky at the four alongside Kemba Walker and Dwight Howard.

Game Story

The Hornets trailed by as much as 22 points in the second half but they battled back to take a 97-96 lead with 3:50 left in the final period. At that point, the Celtics bounced back and ended up closing the game on a 12-3 run. Even though Charlotte was outscored by 19 points in the first half, they can take pride in the fact that they played better in the third and fourth quarters by outscoring Boston 62-51.

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Who stepped up and Player of the Game

Dwayne Bacon, Dwight Howard and Kemba Walker all scored 12 points on the night. Johnny O’Bryant scored 11 points while Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminsky each chipped in with 10 points. Terry Henderson scored five points in his Hornets’ debut as he played 15 minutes.

The Celtics were led by Kyrie Irving who put up 16 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and zero turnovers. Al Horford added 15 points and eight boards while Gordon Hayward scored 13 points. Jaylen Brown rounded out Boston’s double-digit scorers with 12 in this one.

Player of the Game: Malik Monk led Charlotte in scoring for the third straight game as he finished with 21 points, six rebounds and three assists on the night. Although he shot just under 40% from the field, the rookie did manage to knock down four three-point shots.

Play of the Game:

Tweet of the Game:

"Quick Stings"

• Monk scored over 20 points for the first time in his career.
• The Hornets out-rebounded the Celtics 47-37.
• Charlotte outscored Boston 40-32 in points in the paint.
• For the first time this preseason, the Hornets shot over 30% from three at 35.1% (13-37).
• This game featured three ties and five lead changes.

After the loss, Charlotte falls to 0-2 on the preseason against Boston. The Hornets have now lost their last two exhibition games. The two teams will face off three times this regular season with the first meeting coming on November 10th.

Next: Nic Batum's injury puts added pressure on Kemba

In their next game, the Charlotte Hornets will host the Dallas Mavericks in their fifth and final preseason game on Friday, October 13th. This will be the team’s final chance to experiment with rotations and get things sorted out before opening night. Their first regular season game will be on October 18th against the Detroit Pistons.