Boston Celtics were off to a quick start and led 10-6, fueled by eight points from Jeff Green, but they clearly had some matchup problems with the Charlotte Hornets big man duo, Al Jefferson and Cody Zeller. At that time the Hornets made a 10-0 run in the only really effective stint of offense in the first half for either team.
Both teams played some stingy defense and were able to clear the glass on the defensive end a lot of the time, making it a low scoring game, at least by Boston's standards. The Hornets hit only one of six three-point attempts, and the Celtics only two of eleven in the first half.
The Hornets were up by as much as eight points when the starters started to sub out, and the Boston bench was able to close the gap, but it wasn't until Rajon Rondo returned to the floor and made his first basket of the night that Boston got the lead again at 34-32. Rondo continued to dominate the game in the last five minutes of the half, and his eight points were key to getting a 45-40 lead at halftime.
Charlotte came out strong in the second half led by Kemba Walker, Al Jefferson, and Lance Stephenson, while the Celtics continued having problems getting the offense to flow and making their shots. A 33-21 quarter for the Hornets game them a seven-point lead before the fourth quarter.
Both the Hornets and the Celtics have lost a lot of games in the fourth quarter this season. And when Celtics made it a one possession game with 4:22 to go, thanks to a Marcus Thornton scoring outburst, it looked like it could happen again. But then one of the characteristic Boston scoring droughts happened, and the Charlotte Hornets were able to pull away.
Thornton hit three of eight three-point shots but otherwise the shooting from behind the arc was nearly atrocious for both teams.
Al Jefferson was the big player for the Hornets, especially in the second half, where he made 19 of his 23 points. Adding 14 rebounds, he had a huge double-double for the evening. Boston's Rajon Rondo had another triple-double, his third of the season, with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was back for Charlotte after sitting out 12 games. He played 19 minutes and added some strong defense on Jeff Green down the stretch to his nine points and six rebounds.
Next up for these two teams, the Charlotte Hornets will play in Memphis on Friday, while the Boston Celtics are going into a very favorable stretch of games, starting with a home game against the struggling New York Knicks, also on Friday.
