The Charlotte Hornets obtained their second consecutive win and the sixth in the last seven days by winning their visit to the TD Garden in Boston by 111-102.
LaMelo Ball stood out with a triple-double (15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists) accompanied by Terry Rozier III, who emerged as the match’s top scorer with 28 points and six converted three-pointers.
The team led by James Borrego continues like a shot and consolidates its seventh place in the East with a positive record of 25-20. For their part, those from Massachusetts are ninth in the table with a 23-23, followed closely by the Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks.
“To come here and get this victory. We wanted to make a statement of intent. We want to get to where they are as a franchise,” said Rozier III before the microphones of ESPN.
For the Celtics, Dennis Schröder led their attack with 24 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists; followed by Jaylen Brown with 21 points. Instead, Jayson Tatum suffered from foul trouble with only 12 points and a rather difficult night shooting: 5 of 19 shooting from the field and 0 of 7 on three-pointers.
“I think tonight we moved the ball very well and we had very good shooting options. But they got very difficult baskets. They came this far and outdid us,” explained Jaylen Brown.
“The foul problems affected the group in general. That was my message to my players: impact the game when your shots aren’t going in,” added manager Ime Udoka.
Other highlights
In Charlotte, reserve Kelly Oubre Jr. returned to the floor after missing the last four games with 10 of his 18 points only in the second period. For his part, Gordon Hayward shot just once in the entire first half and had 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals against his former team.
Robert Williams III had a more than justified absence due to the birth of his son Hendrix. For his part, Marcus Smart was also absent after recently recovering from COVID-19, and Aaron Smith was also unable to wear shorts after suffering a sprained ankle.
(Cover photo: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)