Postgame Coverage: Game Gallery | Fashion Gallery | Bridges Highlights | Coach Borrego | PJ Washington
The Charlotte Hornets put together a much better start to their final game of the 2019 calendar year, but ultimately couldn’t keep pace with the high-powered Boston Celtics, falling 109-92, on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at Spectrum Center.
Miles Bridges led the hosts with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, a team-high 10 rebounds and four assists in the loss. This marks the Michigan State product’s third career double-double, two of which have now come against the Celtics (Nov. 7, 2019).
Charlotte played from behind and within striking distance for much of the contest, finally closing the deficit to a mere 80-75 margin shortly after the start of the fourth quarter. Boston then responded with a 16-4 run to go back up by 17 with 6:28 left on the clock. The Hornets never threatened the rest of the way, losing for the sixth consecutive outing.
“[Boston’s] a very good team, obviously,” said Coach Borrego afterwards. “They make shots. I thought we stuck with it. We were right there for a bit, didn’t hang our heads, kept making a few runs here or there. Against a team like this, you have to play for 48 minutes. For our group, we almost have to hit perfection just to be in the game against Boston. Offensively, we’ve really struggled to score against them. Their length, their size, their switching ability is tough on us over a 48-minute game.”
PJ Washington finished with a team-high 15 points (3-of-5 from three), five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Devonte’ Graham (11 points), Dwayne Bacon (11 points; highest-scoring performance since Nov. 9 vs. New Orleans), Terry Rozier (10) and Cody Zeller (10) also posting double-digit scoring performances for Charlotte.
Borrego added, “I thought Bacon got to the rim, he made plays for others and he was aggressive in his shot. I thought he competed on the defensive end. So, I’m proud of him. He’s stayed ready, he’s been working and we called on him tonight. I thought he was a positive.”
Jayson Tatum (24), Kemba Walker (22) and Gordon Hayward (21) all notched 20-point performances for Boston in the victory, with Hayward pulling down 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Enes Kanter added 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds off the bench, good for his third double-double of the campaign as well.
After getting out-rebounded by 30 at TD Garden last Sunday night, Charlotte was much more physical on the glass this time around, with the Celtics winning the battle of the boards, 54-41 (15-8 edge in offensive rebounding). The Hornets had 17 turnovers leading to a mere 11 Boston points and assisted on 25 of 34 made field goals (73.5% assist rate).
A two-game road trip gets underway for the Hornets on Wednesday, Jan. 2 when they travel to face the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 7 PM EST start at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Catch the game on Fox Sports Southeast or listen on WFNZ 610 AM/102.5 FM or the Hornets app.