The Charlotte Hornets rounded out their three-game home stand against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, March 9. Boston, who has not lost in March, continued their winning ways against a Hornets team that could not buy a bucket all night. With a final score of 115-101, it was not a particularly close contest.
As a team, Charlotte shot 42.9% from the field, 25% from three-point range, and 75% on free throws. Those kinds of numbers are not going to get it down on most nights, let alone when you are going against one of the hottest teams in the league.
For the visitors, Jayson Tatum was on a mission from the get-go. He finished with 44 points on 24 shots. All four of the other starters ended with double-digit points in the dominant road win.
For the home squad, Terry Rozier finally cooled off. After having three monster outings in a row, Rozier scored 14 points on 17 shots, grabbed one rebound, and dished three assists. He added five steals, but it was a significantly worse performance than what he had been putting up in recent play.
LaMelo Ball failed to connect on a triple, which is quite rare for him, but he was solid overall. He shot 6-12 from the field and tallied 15 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. If the Hornets want to get back on the winning track, he will have to take over in the remaining fifteen games.
When going against a team as hot as the Celtics, it is hard to slow them down. Unfortunately, the Hornets did not have the answers tonight and were on the receiving end of the latest Boston thrashing.
Thankfully, Charlotte gets Thursday off before traveling to New Orleans to battle the Pelicans on Friday night. It will be the first of two on the road for the Hornets, who are entering a slightly easier portion of the schedule to close the regular season.