Celtics 98, Hornets 93
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Guard Avery Bradley scored 23 points and guard Isaiah Thomas tallied 21 points and 13 assists as the Boston Celtics snapped the Charlotte Hornets' four-game winning streak with a 98-93 victory Saturday night.
The Celtics (14-10) bounced back from a draining double-overtime loss to Golden State on Friday night. It's the fourth straight time this season the Celtics have won on the second night of a back-to-back.
In a game that saw 14 lead changes and six ties, the Celtics took the lead for good at 90-89 on a fast-break basket by Thomas with 2:54 remaining. Forward Jae Crowder's two free throws with 6.6 seconds remaining made it 96-93 and, after Charlotte guard Nic Batum badly missed a tying 3-point attempt with 3.6 seconds remaining, Boston guard Evan Turner sealed it with a layup with two seconds left.
Charlotte missed five 3-point attempts in the final two and a half minutes.
Crowder scored 16 points, and Turner and forward David Lee scored 10 each.
Batum led Charlotte (14-9) with 21 points. Guard Kemba Walker scored 16, guard Jeremy Lin scored 14, center Cody Zeller scored 12, and center Spencer Hawes recorded 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Celtics committed just five turnovers.
Charlotte led 17-16 after one quarter and 42-38 at halftime. Boston led 73-69 after three quarters, after leading by as many as 12 in the third. The Celtics hit seven 3-pointers in the period.
NOTES: The Celtics were coming off a draining 124-119 double-overtime loss to Golden State on Friday night in Boston. ... The Hornets were coming off a 123-99 win at Memphis on Friday when they hit 18 3-pointers. ... Hornets C Al Jefferson missed his sixth straight game with a strained calf. He could miss another week, then will have to serve a five-game suspension once he is healthy enough to play. ... The Celtics were without G Marcus Smart (lower leg injury) and G R.J. Hunter (hip flexor strain). ... The teams will meet again in Charlotte on Dec. 23. They will play just three times this season, with the third game at Boston on April 11. ... This was one of the annual matchups between the Zeller brothers, C Cody Zeller of the Hornets and C Tyler Zeller of the Celtics. ... Celtics F Jared Sullinger came into the game ninth in the NBA in rebounding at 9.9. ... The Celtics had forced the most turnovers in the NBA and the Hornets lead the league in fewest turnovers. ... The Celtics will return home to face Cleveland on Tuesday. ... The Hornets will be off until Wednesday when they travel to Orlando.