In a game of runs with huge lead changes the home team, Boston Celtics, came out on top.
Marcus Smart hit his first four shots, including two three-pointers for ten points giving the Boston Celtics a boost that kept them ahead of the Charlotte Hornets all through the first quarter.
During the second quarter, the Celtics built up a ten-point lead, but the Hornets ended the half with a 15-1 run and took a 49-45 lead into the locker room.
The Celtics, who had been hot through the first quarter, hitting 14 of 25 shots, cooled down and only hit seven out of 22 shots in the second quarter.
Al Jefferson proved once again that he is a tough match for the Celtics big men, leading the Hornets with 12 points and five rebounds at the half. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was as usual Charlotte's swiss army knife with tough defense, six rebounds and eight points.
For the Boston Celtics, Tyler Zeller slightly outperformed his small brother, Charlotte's Cody Zeller, with five points, six rebounds, and no less than three blocks. And although he missed his last three shots of the half, Marcus Smart led the Celtics in scoring with ten points at the break.
The second half started with a regular onslaught by Mo Williams (13 points in the third quarter) and the rest of the Hornets, while Avery Bradley was a one-man offense for the Celtics for most of the third quarter.
That changed when Isaiah Thomas subbed in for Boston, and after being behind by 16 points, the Celtics were able to close the quarter with a 12-2 run of their own to cut the Charlotte lead to 75-69.
Considering the importance of the game, it seemed like it was only in the fourth quarter that both teams played with urgency at the same time. The Celtics were able to tie the game at 80-80 and 82-82 and finally took the lead again at 89-88.
Boston's small ball worked against Charlotte's zone defense
While the Hornets tried to counter Isaiah Thomas' attacking Al Jefferson in the paint with a zone defense, the Celtics went small with Jae Crowder and Jonas Jerebko playing the four and five. That also meant that the Celtics ended the game with only two starters, Avery Bradley and Evan Turner, on the floor.
This tactical maneuvering worked out best for the Celtics who made an impressive turnaround of the game, taking the final quarter, 37-23. Combined with the end of the third quarter, that's a 49-25 turnaround.
Jerebko had a couple or more big plays in the last minutes, and it was only fair that he got to finalize the score at 106-98 for Boston by hitting one of two free throws with 12 seconds to go.
Boston and Charlotte are now tied
The Boston bench scored 60 points, led by Isaiah Thomas with 28 points and seven assists. Jerebko had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
For Charlotte, Mo Williams led all scorers with 31 points and seven rebounds, while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
With this win, the Celtics are now tied with the Hornets in the win-loss column with 23 wins and 33 losses each. The season series will be decided March 30th in Charlotte. The Hornets led 2-1 before that game.
The Boston Celtics will end a three-game homestand on Sunday, when they face the league leading Golden State Warriors, while the Charlotte Hornets end a four-game road trip against the Orlando Magic, also on Sunday.