Boston Celtics top the Charlotte Hornets in wire-to-wire victory, 102-91

Kemba Walker‘s 24 points weren’t enough for the Charlotte Hornets to top the Boston Celtics as they lost their final home game of 2017.

The Charlotte Hornets (12-22) were defeated by the Boston Celtics (28-10) as they have now lost 13 of their last 17 games. Even though Kemba Walker scored 24 points, it was overshadowed by the team’s slow start and poor perimeter defense. The double-headed monster of Kyrie Irving and Al Horford combined for 41 points in this one.

Cody Zeller missed his 11th consecutive game as he continues to rehab his surgically repaired left meniscus. Julyan Stone was not with the team as he is still on assignment with the Greensboro Swarm in the G-League. Both of Charlotte’s two-way players, Mangok Mathiang and Marcus Paige, were with Greensboro as well.

Game Story

A slow start doomed the Hornets as they only scored 16 points in the first quarter and were down by as much as 20 points in the first half. A 16-4 run in the third got Charlotte back into the game but they were never able to take the lead. The difference in this game was Boston’s outside shooting. The visitors made 15 three’s on 34 attempts as they shot 44.1% from behind the arc compared to only 30.4% (7-23) from Charlotte.

More from Swarm and Sting

• Hornets: Where does Brandon Miller’s ceiling rank among other rookies?
• Charlotte Hornets grade out mostly average in position-by-position ranking
• Hornets News: P.J. Washington makes bold statement on Brandon Miller
• Grade the mock trade: Hornets snag Tyler Herro, flip Gordon Hayward
• Will the Charlotte Hornets be in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery?

Player of the Game

Kemba Walker led the Hornets as he finished with a game-high 24 points to go along with five assists. Although he had a good night scoring the ball, the all-star point guard struggled a bit from the field going only 9-22 and 4-10 from deep. He also committed four turnovers and was a -4 in +/-.

Marvin Williams added 13 points and nine rebounds while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist also put up 13 points on the night. Dwight Howard grabbed a double-double with 12 points and 17 boards. Frank Kaminsky led Charlotte’s bench nine points. Nicolas Batum only had seven points in 34 minutes as he continues to struggle.

The Celtics were led by Kyrie Irving who ended the game with 21 points and eight assists. Al Horford chipped in with 20 points and 11 rebounds while rookie Jayson Tatum had 18 points. Terry Rozier (15) and Shane Larkin (11) rounded out Boston’s double-figure scorers.

Highlight of the Night:

Tweet of the Game:

"Quick Stings"

• Howard recorded his 19th double-double of the season.
• MKG passed Kenny Gattison for eighth place all-time in the franchise’s rebounding leaderboard. (1,943)
• Boston’s bench outscored Charlotte’s second unit, 31-22
• The Celtics outscored the Hornets, 19-8, in fastbreak points.
• Kemba scored 20+ points for the 19th time this season.

With the loss, Charlotte falls to 0-2 in their season series against Boston. The Hornets have now lost six straight games to the Celtics. The two sides will meet for the third and final time this season on February 28th in Boston.

Next: Rumor: Hornets could look to trade Batum or MKG

In their next outing, the Hornets will travel out West to take on the Golden State Warriors on Friday, December 29th. It will be their second and final meeting of the season after the Warriors won back on December 6th in Charlotte. Kemba Walker and company will look to bounce back with a statement victory over the defending NBA Champions.