After a slow start, Boston’s second half three-point shooting barrage propelled the home team to victory.
Boston closed out the 2024-25 regular season with a two-game mini home stand against the Charlotte Hornets. Game 1 of 2 was a competitive game in the first half before the Celtics exploded in the second half to win 130-94. Boston had a solid team performance with 6 players in double figures points.
Boston’s starters return to action after skipping Thursday’s road loss to Orlando. The C’s reverted to a double big lineup with Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Jayson Tatum starting the second-to-last game of the season. Jaylen Brown will likely miss the final two games of the season due to his persistent knee injury.
The Red Auerbach award for the Boston Celtic player who demonstrated genuine sportsmanship throughout the season was given to Jrue Holiday before to the tip off.
Charlotte jumped out to an early 7-0 lead as Boston went scoreless in the first two minutes of the game. Derrick White finally got Boston on the scoreboard with a 15-foot jumper. White was Boston’s only scorer, accounting for the team’s opening seven points, and he kept scoring.
The Celtics committed a pair of turnovers to start the game as the returning starters looked flat-footed against the feisty Hornet players. Jayson Tatum finally got on the scoreboard with four minutes to go in the first quarter with a cutting layup followed by a running pull up three-pointer with the scores 19-20, Charlotte up.
Boston’s bench trio of Pritchard, Kornet and Hauser entered the game to end the quarter alongside Tatum and Holiday. Hauser converted on his first triple of the game after Tatum blew a two-handed dunk attempt and the ball bobbled free. The scores were tied after one quarter, 25 apiece.
Seth Curry and Payton Pritchard traded three-point buckets to start the second quarter. Boston was inefficient shooting the ball to start this game as Boston were 5-17 from three. Porzingis struggled with an early stat line of 1-6 from three and 1-9 from the field, more than half his seven early points coming from the free throw line where the Latvian was 4-4.
Al Horford scored on his second three-pointer attempt of the game as he logged Boston’s eighth point of the quarter. Payton Pritchard got his second three-pointer of the game who was having an extremely efficient game after a disappointing performance in Orlando a few nights earlier.
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Al Horford asserted himself on both ends with 7 boards, 1 block, and a team-high 13 points in the first half. Kristaps had 11 points while Pritchard contributed 10 points in just 12 minutes from the bench. Boston led at the half by just 1 point, up 54-53.
Luke Kornet slammed home Boston’s first points of the second half with a loud alley-oop jam from a Tatum feed. Derrick White hit consecutive triples after starting the game slow; the Celtics guard also registered his third blocked shot of the night.
Jayson Tatum was fouled shooting from three and nailed the free throw for his twelfth point of the game. Tatum then assisted once more to Kornet as Boston took a 12-point lead, 71-59, with seven and a half minutes to go in the third.
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Derrick White sustained a bruised head as he connected with Jusuf Nurkic’s shoulder on a moving screen. White shook off the play and stayed in the game for Boston. Charlotte remained within striking distance of the Celtics after Seth Curry made his fourth triple of the game.
Following the early game shooting struggles (5-17 from three), Boston then converted on 12-21 from beyond the arc as six players connected from distance for the home team. Boston rattled off the points throughout the third quarter with an impressive 37 points, spearheaded by Sam Hauser who went 3-3 from distance in the third quarter alone. Boston had a 16 point lead heading into the final quarter.
Joe Mazzulla looked to his deeper bench players to start the fourth as Craig, Queta and Scheierman all saw their first minutes of the game. Queta had an impressive block on Mark Williams and a nifty turnaround hook shot in his first minutes of action.
Boston all but sealed the deal with seven minutes to go in the game as the home team converted two straight heat check threes from Scheierman then Payton Pritchard. Scores were 104-78, Boston up a whopping 26 points over the fourteenth placed Hornets with plenty of time to go.
Boston’s 13-0 run in the fourth quarter was eventually snapped by three-pointers from Damion Baugh and French rookie Tidjane Salaun. Boston’s bench crew had an impressive run to the end the game as they continued to score at a high pace. Hauser and Pritchard eventually would be subbed out with two minutes to go, the pair had 42 points and a combined 10 three-pointers on the night.
JD Davison woke the crowd up with an impressive dunk as time wound down. The G-League MVP flew into the key for a solo one-handed tomahawk jam. Davison then lobbed to Queta for a flush, Boston absolutely destroyed the Hornets in the second half with 75 points.
With one final game left in the regular season, fans have probably seen the last game with the whole Celtics roster prior to playoffs. The Celtics are undoubtedly keeping an eye on possible Eastern Conference opponents in the first round of the playoffs. Charlotte will stay in town for a final matinee game of the season on Sunday.