The Charlotte Hornets continue to struggle late in games as they fell in heartbreaking fashion to the shorthanded Boston Celtics.
The Charlotte Hornets (5-7) were defeated by the Boston Celtics (11-2) and have now lost four straight. Charlotte’s road struggles continue as they are now only 1-6 away from home. Even without Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, the Celtics managed to complete an improbable come from behind victory.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist returned to the starting lineup after missing the last four games with an excused absence. Treveon Graham (right quad contusion) joined Nicolas Batum (left elbow) and Julyan Stone (strained hamstring) on the inactive list. There’s a chance that Nic could be back for the Hornets next game.
Game Story
After Kyrie Irving went down in the first two minutes of the game, Charlotte took control and led for a majority of the game. They even pushed their lead to as much as 18 points in the third quarter. Charlotte’s lead came crumbling down in the fourth quarter as they only scored three points in the first eight minutes of the final period. Boston ended up outscoring them, 26-11, in the fourth. The Hornets left a lot of points at the free throw line as thy only shot 57.6% (19-33) from the charity stripe.
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Player of the Game
Although Kemba Walker struggled to shoot the ball going 5-19 (26.3%) from the field, he did score a team-high 20 points to go along with 11 assists. The all-star point guard was 0-6 from three but did manage to convert 10 of his 11 free throws. HIs 11 assists were a season-high.
Frank Kaminsky added 14 points off of the bench, all of which came in the first half. Dwayne Bacon scored 10 points while fellow rookie Malik Monk only put up six points on 1-8 shooting. For the first time this season, Jeremy Lamb failed to reach double-digits. In his first game back, MKG scored eight points and grabbed five boards.
The Celtics were led by rookie Jayson Tatum who scored 16 points with a number of crucial buckets coming down the stretch. Shane Larkin chipped in 16 points off of the bench as he filled in for Kyrie Irving. Terry Rozier (15) and Marcus Morris (14) each scored in double figures while Jaylen Brown put up a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Highlight of the Night:
Tweet of the Game:
"Quick Stings"
- Kemba recorded his second double-double of the season.
- Dwight grabbed 10+ rebounds for the ninth time this year.
- Walker recorded a season-high 11 assists.
- Howard committed half of Charlotte’s 14 total turnovers.
- The Celtics’ bench outscored the Hornets’ second unit, 46-37.
With the loss, Charlotte falls to 01 against Boston so far this season. The two sides will face off a total of three times this year with their next meeting coming on December 27th at the Spectrum Center. The Hornets have lost five consecutive games to the Celtics dating back to last season.
Next: Jeremy Lamb has taken his game to the next level
In their next outing, Charlotte will return home to host the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Hornets will wear their throwback pinstripe uniforms for the first time this season as LeBron James comes to town. Steve Clifford’s side will look to snap their four-game skid on November 15th.