Hornets and Celtics meet Friday in NBA Cup group stage

Boston Celtics (6-2, third in the Eastern Conference) vs. Charlotte Hornets (3-6, 10th in the Eastern Conference)

Charlotte, North Carolina; Friday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Celtics travel to face the Boston Celtics in an NBA Cup in-season tournament group play matchup.

Charlotte finished 44-38 overall, 26-26 in Eastern Conference action and 21-20 at home during the 2025-26 season. The Hornets allowed opponents to score 111.2 points per game and shoot 46.7% from the field last season.

Boston went 56-26 overall and 36-16 in Eastern Conference action during the 2025-26 season. The Celtics averaged 15.8 points off of turnovers, 16.9 second-chance points and 36.8 bench points last season.

INJURIES: Hornets: Grant Williams: day to day (hamstring).

Celtics: Jayson Tatum: day to day (rest), Payton Pritchard: day to day (eye), Devin Carter: out (illness).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.