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Keys to the Game: Celtics 108, Hornets 98

Marc D'Amico
Team Reporter and Analyst

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Key Moment

Charlotte sure had a shot on Monday night – two, actually – but it was all out of bullets.

The Hornets withstood everything the Celtics, and in particularly Isaiah Thomas, had to throw at them during the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Thomas scored 13 points during the first five minutes alone, and 17 overall during the frame, yet with less than a minute left the Hornets had a chance to make it a one-possession game.

They’ll look back on the film and realize that they rushed one shot and simply missed another while trailing 102-96.

Kemba Walker was the culprit of the rushed shot. He came off of pick-and-pop with Cody Zeller and fired up a 3-pointer from the right wing with 58.8 seconds left in the game. The shot missed, likely because he released it between tight defense from both Avery Bradley and Thomas. It appeared as if Walker was attempting to elicit a whistle on the play.

He failed to do so, but the Hornets still had another shot. Zeller charged in to grab the offensive rebound and quickly tossed the ball out to Nicolas Batum on the left wing. Batum caught the ball beyond the 3-point line and fired away for another shot at cutting Boston’s lead in half. However, his shot clanked off the back of the rim and into Kelly Olynyk’s hands to give the C’s possession.

Thomas did his thing at the other end on the ensuing possession, drilling a pull-up jumper from 20 feet out to ice the game. His bucket fell through the net with 33.2 seconds left on the clock and it gave Boston a 104-96 lead.

It would’ve taken a miracle for Charlotte to overcome that deficit, and it was unable to do so. The Hornets were out of bullets during the final minute of the game, which aided the Celtics in securing a 108-98 win.

Key Player

Isaiah Thomas is going to get a lot of love tonight, and deservedly so. We just can’t overlook what Al Horford did, however.

Horford provided one of his top statistical performances of the season during Boston’s win over the Hornets. Not only did he score 22 points, but he also provided six boards and four assists during his 33-plus minutes of action.

The Hornets had no answers for Boston’s big man in the paint, as Horford connected on seven of his nine field goal attempts from inside the 3-point arc. He shot 8-for-15 overall on the night.

Only one player, Thomas (plus-14), finished the contest with a better plus/minus rating than Horford’s plus-13. The big man made a difference in all facets of the game.

Box Score Nuggets

  • Isaiah Thomas scored a game-high 35 points despite not attempting a single free throw.
  • Four Celtics (Thomas, Marcus Smart, Kelly Olynyk and Al Horford) dished out four assists apiece.
  • Every Celtic who checked into the game recorded at least one assist and the team tallied 29 overall on the night.
  • Each team had two players surpass the 20-point barrier, with Thomas (35) and Horford (22) doing so for the C's, while Kemba Walker (24) and Marvin Willians (21) did so for the Hornets.
  • Nicolas Batum, who grabbed 10 boards, was the only player in the game to reached double-figures in that category.
  • Olynyk was fantastic off of Boston's bench, tallying 15 points, a team-high nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.
  • Boston attempted only 10 free throws in the game and made nine of them.
  • Batum missed a triple-double by two points. He finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
  • Charlotte's largest lead of the game was only three points, while Boston's was 13.
  • Boston made 15 3-pointers, compared to Charlotte's eight.

Quote of the Night

Brad Stevens on Jaylen Brown's lengthy pregame message to the crowd about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.