The Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Hornets duke it out at the Spectrum Center on Monday night.
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics have been on a tear as they are now aiming for a seventh straight victory after sneaking past the shorthanded Grizzlies in a 102-100 road win last night. Kristaps Porzingis led the team with 26 points, eight rebounds and six blocks, Jayson Tatum added 20 points with nine rebounds and five assists while Sam Hauser drained five 3-pointers to finish with 15 points off the bench. As a team, the Celtics shot 45 percent from the field and 12 of 31 from the 3-point line which was just enough to get the job done, but the Celtics never led by more than 10 points and they were down by two points with just 1:34 left on the clock.
Charlotte Hornets
Meanwhile, the Charlotte Hornets have been in poor shape as they've lost six of their last seven games overall and they will be hoping to arrest a four-game slide after getting routed by the Knicks in a 122-108 loss on Saturday. LaMelo Ball drained eight 3-pointers to lead the way with 34 points and nine assists on 12 of 22 shooting, Brandon Miller added 29 points on 10 of 15 shooting while Miles Bridges chipped in with 19 points off the bench. As a team, the Hornets shot 48 percent from the field and a sizzling 17 of 35 from the 3-point line, but they suffered another slow start with just 19 points in the first quarter which meant they were playing from behind the entire game.
Peter's Pick
The Celtics are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, but they are playing their second game of a back to back set after scraping past the depleted Grizzlies last night. The Hornets have really struggled this season as there hasn't been any consistent contributors outside of Ball and I think that's going to be the case once again. The Celtics were far from convincing in their narrow win last night, but they just have so much firepower right now and the Hornets' defense is so poor.
AUTHOR: Peter Tran
