 different guys. Just trying to continue to make the right play but find the guy that's hot.'' Kemba Walker added 23 points against his former team. Jaylen Brown had 16 points and nine rebounds, and rookie Grant Williams added 12 points off the bench for the Celtics. Boston has won three straight and seven of nine.Devonte' Graham had 23 points and 10 assists, Bismack Biyombo scored 18 and Miles Bridges 15 to lead the Hornets. Charlotte has dropped three straight and four of five.Terry Rozier scored 14 for the Hornets in his return to Boston. He left the team in free agency last summer. Rozier finished with three points on 1-of-11 shooting in a 108-87 home loss to Boston on Nov. 7.Rozier didn't get a video tribute as some ex-Celtics do in their return, but a small picture of him with the caption ''welcome back'' was hung outside the Hornets' locker room.''Yeah, I think I need a bigger sign,'' Rozier said with a laugh.Walker had 14 points on 4-of-12 shooting in his return to Charlotte in November. Walker left the Hornets in July after eight seasons, joining the Celtics on a four-year, $141 million deal in free agency.Boston opened the game's first double-digit lead at 72-62 on a 3-pointer from the right corner by Semi Ojeleye with 7:24 left in the third quarter.Charlotte pulled within 75-73 after Biyombo's floater with 4:30 left capped an 11-3 run.Malik Monk's three-point play 13 seconds into the fourth cut the Celtics' lead to 84-80, but Tatum scored 17 of the Celtics' next 19 points to blow the game open.''You know he's going to score at some point,'' Charlotte's Marvin Williams said of Tatum. ''You just hope he doesn't get 40 like he did tonight. He's good enough to get 40. It's just one of those nights for him.'' Tatum's step-back 3-pointer with 4:30 remaining gave him a career high.Tatum's late surge reminded Rozier of what it felt like to go on a run in front of the Boston crowd.''There's nothing better than these fans. They make you feel like you can touch the sky. He did just that,'' Rozier said. ''He's a superstar in the making and just killed us tonight.'' Boston led by as many as 26 points in the closing minutes.Graham scored 17 points as Charlotte led 37-30 after one quarter, but the second-year guard was held to two in the second and Boston took a 59-56 lead into halftime.KEMBA-LIKEGraham was hot in the first quarter, going 5 for 6 from beyond the arc. Graham tied a franchise record for 3-pointers in a quarter, a record shared by ex-Hornet Walker. Graham's 17 first-quarter points also matched Walker for the most by a Hornets player in the last two seasons.NOT SO SCARYRozier, nicknamed ''Scary Terry'' during his tenure in Boston, is a combined 7 for 28 in two games against his former team.TACKO TIME IIFor the second straight game, the crowd erupted when Celtics' 7-foot-5 reserve Tacko Fall stood up to check in with three and a half minutes remaining. The crowd again chanted ''MVP!'' and cheered wildly for every play Fall was involved in. Fall finished with four points, two rebounds, and a block.TIP-INSHornets: Rookie F P. J. Washington was sidelined for a fifth straight game after fracturing his right pinkie finger on Dec. 13 at Chicago. Washington, the No. 12 overall pick in this year's draft, is averaging 12.3 points through 28 games.Celtics: F Gordon Hayward (sore left foot) sat out a third straight game, but coach Brad Stevens said he ''felt better'' after a morning workout. ''I would guess he'll be bumped up to probable after today,'' Stevens said. ... G Marcus Smart (eye infection) has been cleared to work out at the team's facilities. Stevens said he expects Smart to return shortly after a six-game absence. ... G Carsen Edwards was available after being considered probable with a right quad contusion. Edwards was recalled from Maine of the NBA G-League before the game.UP NEXTHornets: Host Thunder on Friday night.Celtics: Visit defending champion Raptors at noon on Christmas Day.---More NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Dec 22, 2019The Boston Celtics will get their final tune-up ahead of a Christmas Day matchup with the defending champion Toronto Raptors when they host the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night.The Celtics will look to run their winning streak to three before traveling to Toronto for Wednesday's key Atlantic Division tilt. The two teams are neck-and-neck atop the standings, the Celtics beating the Raptors in Boston in their first meeting.The Hornets, meanwhile, will get a break after Sunday's game, not playing again until they host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.Charlotte enters the contest on a back-to-back, losing 114-107 at home to the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. Terry Rozier led all scorers with 29 points, and Devonte' Graham added 22, but the Hornets still fell for the third time in their last four games."(The Jazz's) playmaking, their shooting, I think that was the difference," head coach James Borrego said. "They're a heck of a team. I thought our guys battled tonight, didn't make enough plays or shots down the stretch." Rozier impressed for the second straight game after scoring a career-high 35 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. The 25-year-old guard, in his first season with Charlotte after four years in Boston to begin his career, was a non-factor when he played the Celtics for the first time Nov. 7, held to three points on 1-of-11 shooting.In that contest, played in Charlotte, all the focus was on Kemba Walker, making his return to the home of the team he led for eight seasons for the first time since joining the Celtics. Walker's role has shifted in Boston -- he's still the club's leading scorer, but he doesn't have to do it alone like he largely did with the Hornets.Take, for example, the Celtics' win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. Walker was held to two points on 0-of-6 shooting and committed seven turnovers, but teammates Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum scored 26 points apiece, and Boston still cruised to a 114-93 victory.Walker did have 11 assists in the game."It wasn't Kemba's night, but everybody on our team contributed to winning," coach Brad Stevens said. "I think everyone on the team knows that we're doing a lot to center ourselves around those three guys while we're not healthy, but they all gave us a lot." Injuries have been a problem for Boston of late, forward Gordon Hayward (sore left foot), guard Marcus Smart (left eye infection) and big men Vincent Poirier (right pinkie fracture) and Robert Williams III (left hip) all missing the last two games. Hayward is questionable Sunday, as he was Friday, but the other three have been ruled out.As a result of the injuries, 7-foot-5 rookie Tacko Fall made his home debut late in the fourth quarter of the blowout win over the Pistons to the delight of the crowd. The fan favorite had five points and two rebounds in five minutes."I still have a long way to go; just have to stay the course and trust the plan they have for me and things will work out," said Fall.--Field Level Media
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