Jayson Tatum tallied 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Sam Hauser continued his hot-shooting and finished with 25, as the NBA-best Boston Celtics closed out their six-game road trip with a 118-104 win over the lowly Charlotte Hornets.
Ending this road trip with a W in the books 😁 pic.twitter.com/S5fyMiP2Sg
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 2, 2024
Boston (59-16), who played without All-Star Jaylen Brown, ended their season-long road trip at 4-2. The Celtics will play six of the final seven games at home and can clinch the best-league record overall if they beat the Thunder in what might be a potential Finals preview.
"I think last year we were so antsy to get back to the Finals... we may have took some things for granted."
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) April 2, 2024
Jayson Tatum talks difference between the team last year and this year and this point in the season ?? pic.twitter.com/2ZWN92tlEe
Tatum added four assists, two steals and four triples in 34 minutes in his 19th game with at least 25 points and 10 rebounds this season, including this tough slam over the Hornets’ defense midway through the third frame.
Tatum gets to the rim and finishes STRONG off two! 💪
— NBA (@NBA) April 2, 2024
Celtics-Hornets | Live on the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/KcG3pGXgUu pic.twitter.com/NxYQqaENeA
Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points and Derrick White had 19 points and nine rebounds. The Celtics made 19 triples and got one back over the Hornets, who beat them early in the regular season in a heartbreaking fashion behind a 121-118 overtime loss.
With a seven-point lead at 83-76, the Celts launched a 12-3 run in the final 2:36 of the third to build a 95-79 lead, capped off by a Hauser triple, and from that point never looked back en route to their 27th road win of the season.
On the other hand, Miles Bridges paced the Hornets with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Grant Williams--who played for Boston for four seasons--added 23 points while Brandon Miller had 19 points.
Williams dabbed up former teammate Tatum in the pre-game in a sweet but sound catch-up. In his stay in Beantown, Williams developed into becoming a semi-serviceable, off-the-bench 3-and-D role player before leaving the squad to join the Dallas Mavericks in last year's off-season.
The Hornets actually raced to a hot start, knocking down nine of their first 13 shots, which helped propel them to a 32-30 lead through the first quarter.Catching up with friends.@Grant2Will 🤝 @jaytatum0 https://t.co/ri6L6ANujV pic.twitter.com/W5LOSPMbYj
— Bally Sports: Hornets (@HornetsOnBally) April 1, 2024
However, the Hornets couldn't sustain their good rhythm and went 0-of-8 from 3-point range in the second frame, enabling a 59-53 halftime deficit and going 2-8 in their last 10 games.Grant finds a way 👏 @Grant2Will | #LetsFly35 pic.twitter.com/iYAlRT2qqy
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) April 1, 2024
The win helped the Celtics, who already secured the East top spot, to further widen their gap with the second-running Milwaukee Bucks (47-27) to 11.5 games while the Hornets (18-57) stumbled on their third straight defeat.
