Boston Celtics

Charlotte Hornets Drop Fifth Straight in Loss to the Boston Celtics

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:14 p.m. ET

Fansided, Jerry Stephens/FanSided via Swarm and Sting

Isaiah Thomas outduels Kemba Walker as his fourth quarter outburst led the Celtics past the Charlotte Hornets on route to Charlotte’s fifth straight loss.

	1	2	3	4	T
Celtics	34	25	21	28	108
Hornets	30	23	18	27	98

The Charlotte Hornets (20-21) were defeated by the Boston Celtics (26-15) as they dropped their fifth consecutive game. They are reeling at the moment as Steve Clifford’s side has lost seven of their last eight matches in total and dropped under .500 for the first time this season. Isaiah Thomas’ huge fourth quarter led him past Kemba Walker and the Hornets in this one.

Charlotte was without Jeremy Lamb who missed the game due to a minor foot injury. Without Lamb off the bench, Coach Clifford shortened his rotation and only played nine guys. Jeremy might not seem like a big loss but the second unit could only muster up 26 points.

Turning Point:

The game was tied 53-53 at the 2:35 mark in the second quarter before Boston took a 56-53 lead at 2:18. After that moment, the Celtics never relinquished their lead. The Hornets made a few runs but were never able to tie the game or take the lead from there on out. A big part of why they weren’t able to do so was because of Thomas’ 17-point fourth quarter which helped blow the game open and kept the home team out in front.

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Who Stepped Up:

Per usual, Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 24 points, four rebounds, and only two assists. Marvin Williams added 21 points and four rebounds as he looks to have finally found his rhythm. Cody Zeller chipped in 13 points and eight boards while Nicolas Batum finished with a near triple-double with eight points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.

The Celtics were led by Isaiah Thomas as he recorded a game-high 35 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Al Horford scored 22 points and Jae Crowder had 15 points and seven boards in this one. Kelly Olynyk ended the game with a near double-double off the bench with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Walker and Thomas headlined this all-star matchup but Isaiah’s team not only came out with the win but he also came out on top of their head to head in this one.

Play of the Game:

MARVINNNN!!!! 👊 #CHAatBOS #BuzzCity pic.twitter.com/tvwEkzhpxj

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) January 17, 2017

Tweet of the Game:

#Hornets got off to 2nd-best start in franchise history, are now under .500, outside of the playoffs and almost halfway through the year.

— Chris Kroeger (@Kroeger) January 17, 2017

Quick Stings

With the loss, the Hornets fell to 0-3 on the season against the Celtics. Now that they have lost the season series, Charlotte’s final meeting with Boston won’t have any effect in that respect. Their final matchup will be on April 8th.

After going 0-5 on their recent five-game road trip, the Charlotte Hornets will finally return home as they look to get back on track. They will host the Portland Trailblazers in their next outing as they are in desperate need of a win. It has been a rough stretch for the team but an upcoming five-game homestand could help them out immensely.