In Charlotte, Jayson Tatum achieved 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Sam Hauser scored 25 points with seven 3-pointers, leading the Boston Celtics to a 118-104 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
The Celtics were supported by Kristaps Porzingis with 20 points and Derrick White with 19 points and nine rebounds, contributing to their 11 victories in the last 13 games.
Sam Hauser made 7 out of 11 3-pointers, and the Celtics made 19 in total against the Hornets, seeking revenge for a 121-118 loss on Nov. 20 in Charlotte. Boston lost in overtime after Miles Bridges hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left.
The Boston Celtics, who have already secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a record of 59-16, remain unbeaten this season with 27 wins and no losses when they make at least 18 3-pointers in a game.
Hauser attributed his impressive shooting to the support of Jayson Tatum, who draws a lot of attention from opponents and makes the right plays to create open looks for his teammates.
Hauser said, “I think we always make the right pass and extra reads. JT (Tatum) draws a lot of traps and extra help, and he’s able to make the right plays out of that.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla acknowledged Hauser's confidence and credited the team's offensive strategy for his performance.
Mazzulla explained, “I believe that the layers of our offense unleash his potential. The guys understand that he’s a weapon in different ways, and so when we get to the second and third layer of our offense, especially when teams are guarding us a certain way, it really unleashes guys like Sam. And his teammates continuing to trust him and find him within the layers of our offense.”
Miles Bridges led the Hornets with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Grant Williams contributed 23 points and Brandon Miller added 19 points.
Charlotte put up a strong fight against Boston for a while.
However, the Celtics took control of the game in the third quarter, leveraging their size advantage as Kristaps Porzingis scored 11 points to help establish a 16-point lead. Porzingis took advantage of the absence of 7-foot centers Nick Richards and Mark Williams on the Hornets due to injuries.
Hauser then made two crucial 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, increasing the lead to 19 points. He scored five 3-pointers in the second half.
The Celtics outperformed the smaller Hornets on the boards with a 51-40 rebounding advantage. In one possession in the fourth quarter, they secured three offensive rebounds before Derrick White scored with a driving layup, putting Boston ahead 111-96 with 5:37 remaining in the game. The frustration on the faces of the Hornets was evident as they struggled to grab a rebound.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford admitted that his team had difficulties in setting up their defense at various points during the game.
Clifford mentioned, “The statistics for fastbreak points are quite misleading. They only had seven, but they had us on our heels for many possessions because we were unable to set up our defense. In my opinion, you have to do that when playing against them. They may be ranked 10th in fastbreak points, but they quickly advance the ball and initiate their plays, and those were our worst possessions tonight.”
GRIZZLIES 110, PISTONS 108
Detroit—Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 40 points to lead Memphis to a narrow 110-108 victory over Detroit.
Cade Cunningham, who ended with 36 points, didn't make a 12-foot shot to tie the game as time ran out.
Jackson made 13 of 23 shots and 12 of 14 free throws. Former Piston Luke Kennard scored 19 points for Memphis, which had lost three consecutive and seven of eight.
Detroit has lost nine out of 10 games.
MAGIC 104, TRAIL BLAZERS 106
ORLANDO, Fla. — Franz Wagner scored 20 points and Orlando narrowly won against struggling Portland.
Deandre Ayton missed a shot for the Blazers at the end, and they have lost 10 games in a row.
Wendell Carter Jr. had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Jalen Suggs and Paolo Banchero each had 15 points for the Magic.
Ayton had 20 points and 12 rebounds. Dalano Banton came off the bench and scored 26 points for Portland. Scoot Henderson, who set up Ayton with the final shot, had 13 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
PACERS 133, NETS 111
INDIANAPOLIS — Tyrese Haliburton scored 27 points and had 13 assists to lead Indiana to a big win over Brooklyn.
Despite being thrown out for a severe foul in the middle of the third quarter, Pacers forward Jalen Smith had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Nets’ Dennis Schroder was called for a technical foul for flailing on the follow-through and hitting Smith’s face. Then Smith was called for a flagrant foul and ejected when he retaliated by pushing Schroder. The two had to be separated.
Pascal Siakam scored 15 points and Obi Toppin scored 14 points for Indiana.
Cam Thomas scored 22 points, Trendon Watford scored 21 and Mikal Bridges scored 19 for the Nets.
HAWKS 113, BULLS 101
CHICAGO — Vit Krejci set career highs with 18 points and six 3-pointers, Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 20 and Atlanta defeated Chicago in a matchup between potential play-in tournament opponents.
Krejci made all six field-goal attempts and surpassed his previous highs of 16 points and four 3s, helping Atlanta win for the fifth time in six games.
Dejounte Murray scored 17 points and Clint Capela added 15 points and 11 rebounds as the 10th-place Hawks moved within a half-game of the ninth-place Bulls in the Eastern Conference. Chicago owns the head-to-head tiebreaker after taking two of three from Atlanta and would host a play-in game if the teams finish tied.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 31 points. Coby White scored 22. Ayo Dosunmu added 15 points, and Andre Drummond had 13 points and 18 rebounds.
SUNS 124, PELICANS 111
NEW ORLEANS — Devin Booker scored 52 points, the fifth-highest scoring game of his career, to power Phoenix to a victory over the New Orleans.
Kevin Durant scored 20 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 19 for the Suns, who led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter. New Orleans cut the deficit with a 20-8 run to trail 103-90 entering the fourth quarter.
The Suns built a wall around Zion Williamson on defense, and the Pelicans’ leading scorer didn’t take his first shot until late in the first quarter. Williamson finished with 30 points and five assists. Trey Murphy III added 21 points for New Orleans.