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By Sam Perley
A second three-game winning streak of the season got put on hold for the Hornets as they were no match for the hometown Celtics, falling 119-103 on Sunday, Dec. 23 in Boston, MA. The loss marked Charlotte’s fifth-consecutive regular season defeat at TD Garden, a stretch that began at the start of the 2016-17 campaign.
Kemba Walker led the way for the visitors with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, three rebounds, four assists and two steals. Notably, the UConn product tallied 14 points in the first quarter, the most by any Hornet player so far this season.
The Hornets trailed by just three points after the opening 12 minutes, but were outscored in the second quarter, 39-21, in route to a 21-point halftime deficit. Boston hit 14-of-24 shots (5-of-11 from three) in the frame, while the Hornets shot just 31.6 percent from the field and 0-of-7 from behind the arc.
“I thought we got off to a decent start. We had a decent first quarter, then there was a stretch there where we went dry offensively,” said Hornets Head Coach James Borrego. “We just couldn’t score. It led to a lot of easy points for them… We just didn’t have a presence about us defensively that we saw in the last two games.”
Willy Hernangómez totaled season highs in scoring (19 points on 8-of-11 shooting) and rebounding (10) to go along with two assists and two blocks for his first double-double of the year. Jeremy Lamb (14 points) and Malik Monk (13 points) were the only other Hornet players to finish in double figures.
“I really liked that last group [of Hernangómez, Monk, Devonte’ Graham, Miles Bridges and Dwayne Bacon],” added Borrego. “They were +17 that last nine minutes. The young group responded. They haven’t been playing much over the last couple games, but they came in with a purpose and were the aggressive group out there.”
For the hosts, five-time All-Star Kyrie Irving finished with a cool 25 points on just 9-of-12 shooting, four rebounds and five assists. Sophomore Jayson Tatum added another 17 points, while Marcus Morris chipped in 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Charlotte shot just 38.5 percent from the field in the first 36 minutes of the contest, while Boston converted 51.6 percent of its attempts during this stretch. The Celtics also finished the night on top in the rebounding margin (47-37) and led by as many as 33 points.
The Hornets are back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 26 as they take on the Nets beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET in Brooklyn, NY.