The first two meetings between the Celtics and Hornets were one-sided blowouts. The rubber match was a much closer fight.<\/p>\n
Boston trailed Charlotte by as many as 11 points Tuesday night at TD Garden before rallying to win 113-102 in a possible first-round playoff preview.<\/p>\n
Jaylen Brown tallied 35 points and nine rebounds and played the entire second half for the 54-25 Celtics, who lowered their magic number to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference to one. Jayson Tatum added 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting, five rebounds and four assists.<\/p>\n
Hornets guard LaMelo Ball led all scorers with 36 points, but the Celtics held him scoreless for the final 16 minutes of regulation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn reality, I thought our offense let us down the entire first half, and our defense kept it close,\u201d said Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, whose team outscored Charlotte 68-61 after halftime.<\/p>\n
Mazzulla gave both of his top stars heavier-than-usual workloads. Tatum set a new season high with 38 minutes played, and Brown\u2019s 42 minutes were his second-most in a non-overtime game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could be potentially some stuff that I do in the playoffs,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI had no intention of playing 42 minutes tonight, but that\u2019s the type of whatever it needs to get the job done. \u2026 LaMelo was playing unbelievable, was making some unbelievable shots, and at times, our offense was a little up and down. Whatever is needed, I\u2019ve been taking care of my body all year and making sure that I\u2019m available for my team.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Boston does secure the No. 2 seed, which it can do with a road win Thursday over the third-place New York Knicks, it would face the winner of the 7 vs. 8 play-in game in the opening round. The cluster of teams that could finish in that range includes the Hornets, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic, who are separated by just 1 1\/2 games in the East standings.<\/p>\n
Neemias Queta (12 points, 6-of-7 shooting, five rebounds), who\u2019s been a first-quarter force of late<\/a>, accounted for four of Boston\u2019s first seven made field goals, including three putbacks. The Celtics needed his work inside to survive a sizzling start by Ball, who poured in 13 points in the first seven minutes.<\/p>\n As was the case in Sunday\u2019s win over Toronto, things went sideways for the C\u2019s when Nikola Vucevic relieved Queta midway through the first. Tied at the time, Boston was outscored 13-2 with their second-string big on the floor and ended the quarter down 31-20. Vucevic, who returned to action<\/a> Sunday against Toronto after missing a month with a fractured finger, went 0-for-3 and was whistled for an illegal screen during that stretch.<\/p>\n Vucevic (two points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal in 23 minutes) finished 1-for-10 from the field and 0-for-5 from 3-point range, but other areas of his game improved as the night progressed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just need him to continue to get his legs underneath him, but get comfortable in those playmaking situations on both ends of the floor,\u201d Mazzulla said. \u201cAnd he kind of showed that in the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n Tatum scrapped with Charlotte\u2019s starting big man, Moussa Diabate, early in the second quarter. Tatum shoved Diabate while the two jostled for position after a made Celtics basket, then jousted with him in the paint on the ensuing Hornets possession. Their altercation initially resulted in fouls on both players, but a successful Charlotte challenge changed the call to a defensive foul on Tatum.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the full sequence that resulted in double fouls on Jayson Tatum and Moussa Diabate. pic.twitter.com\/Sa2J8CyANT<\/a><\/p>\n