The Sports Xchange
Dec 27, 2017
Kyrie Irving scored 21 points and handed out eight assists, and the Boston Celtics earned a 102-91 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C.
Al Horford added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who lost three of their previous four games, including a Christmas Day defeat to the Washington Wizards.
Boston's Jayson Tatum scored 18 points, Terry Rozier had 15, and Shane Larkin contributed 11.
Kemba Walker led Charlotte with 24 points, but he hit just 9 of 22 shots from the floor. Marvin Williams and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist each scored 13 points, while Dwight Howard amassed 12 points and 17 rebounds.
Boston (28-10) led just 76-75 after three quarters, but a Rozier 3-pointer and a Horford jumper boosted the margin to six points.
Charlotte (12-22) was within five until a Horford layup with 2:45 to go. Tatum sank two foul shots, and then an Irving jump shot pushed the advantage to 99-88 with 1:06 remaining.
The Celtics hit 47.4 percent of their field-goal attempts, including 15 of 34 (44.1 percent) from 3-point range. The Hornets made 36.8 percent from the floor, including 7 of 23 (30.4 percent) from long distance.
NOTES: Charlotte lost despite grabbing more rebounds (52-43) and committing fewer turnovers (16 for the Celtics, 12 for the Hornets). ... Boston completes a back-to-back set on Thursday with a home game against the Houston Rockets. ... The Hornets begin a four-game California road trip on Friday at the Golden State Warriors. Charlotte also will visit the Los Angeles Clippers, the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers.