The Charlotte Hornets got over their national television game jitters and defeated the Boston Celtics in the Garden for the first time in nine games with a 111-102 win on ESPN. The rest of the nation is seeing what many people here in the Carolina’s have already seen; the Charlotte Hornets are a damn good basketball team. LaMelo Ball and Kelly Oubre returned from illnesses – each making an impact against Boston. Oubre scored 18 points off the bench, which is more than the bench had as a whole versus the Knicks Monday. Despite not having his best shooting night, LaMelo was able to record a triple double and hit two big threes in the 4th quarter to help secure the win. Here are some other observations from the Hornets big win.
Defense on Tatum and Brown:
Sure Celtics’ stars Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown missed a few good looks, but you have to give some credit to the Hornets’ defense. Tatum and Brown combined to shoot 14-39 from the floor and Tatum was just 0-7 from three. The first time the Hornets played the Celtics Tatum had 41 points and Brown had 30. Charlotte’s team defense solid, holding Boston to 43% shooting from the floor and only 30% from three. Charlotte was also a plus-9 on the glass against Boston.
Terry and Miles Lead the Way:
Terry Rozier and Miles Bridges combined for 50 points, while Terry had 10 assist and Miles chipped in with seven rebounds. Rozier was a very efficient 10-18 from the floor and 6-11 from three in his return to his old home arena. Terry made big baskets in the 4th quarter, including some daggers at the end that sent the Celtics’ fans packing. Miles was 9-17 from the floor, attacking Al Horford often off the dribble knowing he could beat him to the rack anytime he wanted to. These two players weren’t afraid of the national spotlight and led the Hornets to a win against a team that had won five out of their last six games.
Opportunity to Make a Move:
The Hornets are in great position to move up in the standings. Charlotte is currently sitting in sixth place in the Eastern conference, but they’re just two games behind the 4th seed and only four games behind the top seed. Charlotte has nine of their next 12 games at home. In that stretch they play against Cleveland, Miami, Toronto, and Chicago. All those teams are ahead of the Hornets in the current standings and Toronto isn’t far behind them. The Hornets also play the Memphis Grizzlies during that stretch. If Charlotte can pull of a nice string of wins they can really make some noise in an Eastern Conference that’s as competitive as its been in a long time.
It starts Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Charlotte can not afford to have a let down game like it did versus the Magic.