Oh, what a difference a half can make.
The Boston Celtics looked like they were on the verge of their fourth straight loss after limping into halftime with 41 points, but a huge 16-2 run in the third quarter helped them overcome their early woes en route to a 96-88 win at TD Garden.
Isaiah Thomas, who missed the previous four games due to injury, led all scorers with 26 points while adding five assists and three rebounds. Al Horford (18 points, eight rebounds, five blocks), Avery Bradley (12 points, seven rebounds) and Jae Crowder (12 points) were the other leading scorers for Boston. Nicolas Batum scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds for Charlotte in a losing effort.
With the win, the C’s improved to 14-12, while the Hornets dropped to 14-13.
Here’s how it all went down.
STARTING FIVE
Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson, Al Horford
UGLY 12 MINUTES
The Hornets led by as many as seven points in the first quarter, but the Celtics took a 23-22 advantage into the second frame. Neither team shot particularly well, but the Hornets were especially inaccurate, making only 6 of 24 shots (25 percent). But three of their made buckets were 3-pointers, which helped their cause. Boston shot 44.4 percent from the floor, but only made 1 of 7 3-point attempts. Horford led the way for the C’s with eight points, two blocks and a steal in the quarter.
DISASTROUS END
The second quarter was more of the same through the first nine-plus minutes, but Charlotte’s run over the final 2:38 gave it a 50-41 lead heading into halftime. The Hornets’ shooting percentage saw a nice increase to 38 percent, as both Batum (12 points) and Jeremy Lamb (10) reached double digits before the break. The C’s shooting woes only got worse, as they made 15 of 40 (37.5 percent) shots in the first half and were a dreadful 2-for-14 from 3-point range. Both Horford and Thomas scored 10 points in the opening 24 minutes.
COMEBACK TIME
The Celtics looked like a whole different team in the third quarter. The C’s went on a 16-2 run and took a 64-62 lead on a Horford basket, and a Kelly Olynyk 3-pointer a few minutes later helped Boston knot the game at 69-69 heading into the fourth. Thomas (19 points) and Horford (18) both had big quarters, and Horford upped his block total to five. Batum was one of Charlotte’s lone bright spots in the frame with eight more points.
The Hornets stayed in the game for most of the fourth quarter, but the Celtics pulled away with a 15-0 run to take a 92-79 lead with 3:09 remaining.
PLAY OF THE GAME
We mentioned Horford had a ton of blocks, right?
UP NEXT
The C’s hit the road once again for three straight games away from TD Garden, beginning Sunday with a 6 p.m. ET clash against the Miami Heat. They’ll close out the trip with games against the Memphis Grizzles and Indiana Pacers.
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Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports
