104
95
Earlier tonight in Boston, the Charlotte Hornets made it 2 straight wins thanks to yet another great outing from Kemba Walker, as his 33 points were just enough for Charlotte to defeat the Celtics 104-95, to improve their mark to 12-24 on the year.
The Hornets would somewhat lead for almost the entire duration of the game tonight, with a lead of 22 at one point during the night, before Boston almost made a strong run at it in the 4th, but Charlotte would manage to protect the lead and to get out of TD Garden with the win. On the night, Charlotte would finish with a 48.7% field goal percentage for the game, while winning the rebounding battle by a plus-15 margin(48-33). Joining Walker on the Hornets list of double-figure scorers were Cody Zeller, who got the best of the battle between him and his brother Tyler on the night, scoring 20, while Gerald Henderson had a good showing for head coach Steve Clifford's squad, going 4-of-9 from the field on the night to end up with 13 points, and Marvin Williams rounded out the group of double-figure scorers for Charlotte with 10 in the win for the Hornets.
Over on the Celtics side of the final box score, Boston(11-21) was led in scoring by Jared Sullinger, who had 22 on the night to lead the way for the Celtics in the loss, while Jae Crowder and James Young each had 13. The Hornets hope to notch their third straight win on Wednesday night, when they welcome in Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson, and the New Orleans Pelicans to Time Warner Cable Arena.
Charlotte Hornets(11-24) vs. Boston Celtics(11-20)
TD Garden, Boston
Monday, 7:30 p.m.
Television: SportSouth
Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)
Last meeting: Charlotte 96, Boston 87(December 10th at Charlotte)
Series history(since original Hornets first season in 1988-89): BOS leads series 50-39 all-time
Tonight in Boston, the Charlotte Hornets will square off against the Boston Celtics in this Eastern Conference match-up. Last time out, the Hornets prevailed over the Magic by a 98-90 decision on Saturday night in Orlando to end their long losing skid, while the Celtics are coming off a 109-104 loss at the hands of the Bulls on Saturday in Chicago. This will be the second of 4 meetings between the two this season, with Charlotte taking the first match-up on December 10th at "The Hive" by a 96-87 decision.
Scouting the Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets snapped their 5-game losing streak with a much-needed road win back on Saturday night in Orlando, defeating the Magic by a final score of 98-90 behind Kemba Walker's 30 point outing to lead the way for Charlotte. Again, the Hornets will be without the services of Al Jefferson and Lance Stephenson, as they look to build some momentum tonight in Boston, as they meet the Celtics, a team that Charlotte defeated back on December 10th at Time Warner Cable Arena by a 96-87 margin, to wrap up their brief 2-game road trip.
Scouting the Celtics
Boston comes in losers of 2 straight games recently, losing to the Dallas Mavericks on January 2nd in Rajon Rondo's first game in Boston since the trade earlier in the season, and this past Saturday on the road in Chicago. The Celtics hope to get back on the right track tonight at home, as they welcome in the Charlotte Hornets to TD Garden.
Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)
Wednesday: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
Thursday: Charlotte @ Toronto Raptors(7:30 p.m.)
Saturday: Charlotte @ New York Knicks(1:00 p.m.)
January 14th: San Antonio Spurs vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.
87
96
If there was one thing that we learned from the 10-game losing streak, we learned that there is a tough mountain to climb, and for the Charlotte Hornets, they're starting to build themselves a winning streak, coming off a thrilling win last Friday night at home against the New York Knicks, and carrying that momentum into last night's game against the Boston Celtics at Time Warner Cable Arena. The end result from this was that they did battle hard and stayed with it, and they were rewarded with a 96-87 win over Boston. Charlotte improves their record to 6-15 on the season, while the Celtics fall to 7-13, despite the Celtics late run in the 4th, but the Hornets knew that they had some crucial stops along the way.
"We just had to get some stops. We knew they(Boston) could get hot fast. We just had to step up our defense." said center Al Jefferson, who finished the night with 23 points to go with 14 rebounds. Joining "Big Al" in the effort for the Hornets were two other double-figure scorers on the night for Charlotte, including Kemba Walker, who was 5-of-14 from the field to finish with 18 points on the night and Lance Stephenson had a solid outing for the Hornets, finishing up with 13 points. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist returned to the lineup for the Hornets after missing the last few games, and he had 9 points on the night in the win for Charlotte. As a team, Charlotte would end up shooting just 41.7% from the field.
And for Boston, Brad Stevens was pleased with the effort, but it didn't go the way it would be planned for the Celtics. "We made a little bit of a run at the start of the fourth, but we couldn't get quite over the hump."
Rajon Rondo had a triple-double in the loss for Boston with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Jeff Green and Marcus Thornton co-led the Celtics with 16 points on the night, as the Celtics out-shot the Hornets from the field with a 43.7% field goal percentage, and winning the rebounding battle by a 45-44 margin.
The Hornets hope to make it three in a row tomorrow night in Memphis as they take on the Grizzlies at FedExForum for a 8:00 p.m. tip-off, and they'll be back at "The Hive" on Saturday night to square off against the Brooklyn Nets.
Boston Celtics(7-12) vs. Charlotte Hornets(5-15)
Time Warner Cable Arena
Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Television: SportSouth
Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)
Series history(since original Hornets first season in 1988-89): BOS leads series 50-38
Tonight at Time Warner Cable Arena, the Charlotte Hornets will wrap up their second 3-game homestand in 2 weeks as they welcome in the Boston Celtics to town. The last time Charlotte was in action, it was a thriller to remember at "The Hive", as Kemba Walker's layup at the buzzer snapped the Hornets season-long 10-game losing skid, coming away with a dramatic 103-102 win over New York last Friday.
Scouting the Celtics
Despite having a 7-12 record, the Boston Celtics have been showing some signs of life in Brad Stevens' second year as an NBA head coach. Sure, Rajon Rondo often leads the way for the team, but don't count out Jeff Green, Jared Sullinger, Avery Bradley, and one of the surprises that the Celtics have so far in Kelly Olynyk. Speaking of Rondo, he has only appeared in 18 games this season averaging just 8.3 points per game, but look for him to improve on his points per game average this season, as Boston pays a visit to Charlotte tonight to take on the Hornets.
Scouting the Hornets
Last Friday night was indeed another thriller at "The Hive", as the Charlotte Hornets would finally end their 10-game losing skid thanks to Kemba Walker's game-winning layup at the buzzer to give Charlotte a dramatic 103-102 win over Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks. The team did finally get some good news, as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is expected to get back on the floor tonight after missing the last several games with a foot injury, and the Hornets are hoping that he can provide some spark tonight, when they take on the Celtics to wrap up another 3-game homestand.
Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)
Friday: Charlotte @ Memphis Grizzlies(8:00 p.m.)
Saturday: Brooklyn Nets vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
Monday: Charlotte @ Cleveland Cavaliers(7:00 p.m.)
Next Wednesday: Phoenix Suns vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.
In this chapter of our "30 Teams in 30 Days" series leading up to the start of the 2014-15 NBA season, we'll take a closer look at the Boston Celtics, who is still in a rebuilding phase after losing some of the familiar names that many fans loves watching for a good number of years, but one face is still there and hoping to turn things around in "Beantown" this season.
Last season's record: 25-57(4th in Atlantic Division/12th in Eastern Conference)
Head Coach: Brad Stevens(2nd season, 25-57 overall)
Arena: TD Garden(18,624)
Website: Celtics.com
When you think of the Boston Celtics, you think about tradition and a legacy of great players that ever donned the Celtic uniform, such as Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale. In more recent years, many of the fans saw the presence of "The Big 3" in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. Fast forward to last season, when Brad Stevens took over the reigns in Boston, and his first season was a learning curve for Boston, who of course finished the season with a dismal 25-57 season, but many were concerned about the future of Rajon Rondo, who has somewhat taken over as the face of the organization.
When the season starts for Boston, things could either be on the rise, or on the way down for the Celtics as Stevens enters his second year at the helm in Boston, and with Rondo returning to the lineup, along with a lot of fresh, new faces and familiar names, the Celtics may have a breakout, if not a surprise year in the 2014-15 campaign, which may get fans excited again in Boston, as they look to get back to the playoffs and to hopefully bring home their 18th title in franchise history this season.
Upcoming team previews in the "30 Teams in 30 Days" series:
- Friday: New York Knicks
- Saturday: Brooklyn Nets
- Sunday: Philadelphia 76ers
- Monday: Washington Wizards
- Tuesday: Charlotte Hornets
