LaMelo Ball scored 23 of his 36 points in the first half, but the Charlotte Hornets couldn’t make enough shots in the second half and lost to the Celtics, 113-102.

The Summary

The game started as a 3-point shootout. LaMelo Ball scored 14 quick points and had the game tied at 18 by the first TV timeout. Grant Williams added to the party and Josh Green made his own three late in the first quarter. The Hornets had been clamping down on the defensive end with both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum off the floor. They led 31-20 after one.

Both teams cooled off a little bit in the early minutes of the second quarter. Whenever the Hornets did get a shot to go down, the Celtics always seemed to have an immediate answer. The offense went really cold when LaMelo sat, which allowed the Celtics to rip off a run and take a brief lead. The Hornets quickly took it back, and five straight points from LaMelo gave him 23 for the half and the Hornets a five point lead.

LaMelo built off his dominant first half with an unstoppable start to the second. With the Celtics running him off the line, he weaved through the paint for his trademark floaters. Brandon Miller followed that with his own scoring run, but the Celtics got scoring from their stars on the other end to keep pace. They finished the quarter with a 10-0 flurry to put the Hornets in a three point hole heading into the fourth.

The Hornets stayed cold into the fourth quarter, and that allowed the Celtics to start to create some space. Boston left Sion James unguarded for a few possessions, and he was unable to make them pay. The deficit reached double digits by the midway point of the period. The Hornets looked bothered by the pressure both of the Celtics defense and the moment. They never made a push, and Derrick White hit the dagger with about a minute to play.

The Good

LaMelo Ball rose to the occasion. He took over right from the start and carried the offense, even when he wasn’t scoring. The Hornets were -1 in his 37 minutes and -10 in the 11 minutes he sat. He played through a lot of physicality and was largely unbothered by it. I think he’s ready for playoff basketball. He’s built for it.

Miles Bridges had another good glue guy game. He vacuumed in 12 rebounds and dished four assists, a lot of which came early in the game. He actually was a bit of a go-to bucket getter when the Hornets were struggling, especially when he got Payton Pritchard switched onto him.

Brandon Miller was maybe a bit too passive at times, but he did score efficiently when he got his opportunities.

I thought the Hornets played well defensively. They were just victims of some elite shot making. I don’t know if there’s been a game this season where I saw more shots go in after thinking “we’ll take that shot.” Sometimes there’s just nothing you can do, especially against a team as seasoned as this Celtics team.

The Bad

The obvious failing came from the 3-point line. After a very good first half, we saw the 3-point shooting dry up as the game pressure rose. It was very similar to what happened against the 76ers. Some of that was added defensive intensity from the Celtics, but some of it was simply tight play. The offense got a little sticky and the shots didn’t feel as free and easy as they normally are. It’s not surprising given this team’s lack of experience in high leverage situations in meaningful games, but it’s something that’s obviously going to need to be better in the play-in and playoffs.

The Hornets got beat at their own game a little bit on the glass. The offensive glass was fine, but they didn’t do a good job protecting the defensive glass. Some of that was bad luck on long rebounds, but some of that was also a lack of urgency and maybe a little bit of timidness crashing the defensive boards.

Kon Knueppel looked a little overwhelmed at times. He hit a handful of threes, but he struggled inside the arc and looked uncharacteristically sped up at times.

It would’ve been really nice to have Coby White this game. The bench unit struggled to generate any offense. The whole group combined for 18 points, which is about what White contributes on his own most nights. His offensive punch could’ve been enough to keep the Hornets afloat in the second half.

What’s Next

The loss pushes the Hornets down to 9th with the Magic and 76ers both off. The Raptors beat the Heat, which puts the Raptors further out of reach but makes the Heat a little less of a threat. We’ll all be Timberwolves and Rockets fans between now and the Hornets next game, which is ln Friday. That game is the home finale and comes against a Pistons team that has the 1 seed locked up.