Swarm and Sting
Fansided

Charlotte Hornets drop third straight, lose to Boston Celtics

By Evan Birchmore

Oct 7, 2022; Greensboro, North Carolina, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) defends Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) in the second half at Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The Boston Celtics won the preseason game 112-103. Mandatory Credit: Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 7, 2022; Greensboro, North Carolina, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) defends Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) in the second half at Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The Boston Celtics won the preseason game 112-103. Mandatory Credit: Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Charlotte Hornets continued their preseason woes on Friday night, falling to the Boston Celtics by a 112-103 final margin.

LaMelo Ball led the way for Charlotte with 23 points on 8/22 shooting to go along with nine assists.

Jaylen Brown carried the load for Boston with 19 points on 6/14 shooting.

The Hornets, playing in front of a Greensboro, North Carolina home crowd, began tonight’s contest much better than they did their previous two. After having trailed after the first quarter and after the first half in each of their first two preseason games, the Hornets led 35-22 after the opening frame and 62-57 at halftime in tonight’s contest. After not having led by more than five points at any point so far in the preseason, Charlotte was able to build a 16-point advantage early on thanks to improved shooting and better overall energy on the floor.

However, the third quarter would be a different story, as the Celtics outscored the Hornets by a 36-22 margin in the penultimate quarter and would never relinquish the lead afterwards.

The Hornets shot the ball much better tonight than in their previous games, but there is still room for improvement, nonetheless. Charlotte entered tonight shooting just 68/197 (34.5%) from the field and 14/76 (18.4%) from three-point range. By comparison, they shot 39/102 (38.2%) from the field and 10/37 (27.0%) from three-point range in tonight’s game. While these numbers are certainly a step in the right direction, the Hornets will need to be more efficient overall to begin registering some victories.

Perhaps the most astounding statistic from tonight’s game was the discrepancy in both turnovers and points off turnovers between the two teams. Charlotte took much better care of the ball than Boston, recording just 10 turnovers to 20 for the visitors. However, Charlotte could only muster nine points off Boston’s turnovers, while Boston was able to convert Charlotte’s turnovers into 25 points.

What is next for the Charlotte Hornets?

Monday, October 10th – vs. Washington Wizards

Wednesday, October 12th – at Philadelphia 76ers

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