Celtics at Hornets
THE STORY: The New Orleans Hornets began the post-Chris Paul phase of their franchise with a victory on Tuesday. The main piece coming back in the trade that sent Paul away, guard Eric Gordon, was the star in an 85-84 victory over the Phoenix Suns, pouring in 20 points. While Gordon could have a big season as the go-to scorer, the Hornets will succeed or fail based on their defense, which held the high-scoring Suns under 40 percent in the opener. New Orleans has another tough test Wednesday when the Boston Celtics visit. The Celtics have opened with back-to-back losses and have yet to display the type of team defense that has been their trademark over the past few seasons. Boston has given up an average of 110.5 points to the New York Knicks and Miami Heat.
TV: 8:00 p.m. ET, CSNE (Boston), CST (New Orleans), NBATV
ABOUT THE CELTICS (0-2): Boston will be without captain Paul Pierce for the third straight game on Wednesday. The All-Star forward is still dealing with a bruised heel suffered the first day of practice. The Celtics have given Sasha Pavlovic and Marquis Daniels the bulk of the minutes in his absence. Boston has also leaned on Rajon Rondo, who has responded with a total of 53 points, 25 assists and 13 rebounds in the two contests.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (1-0): New Orleans had little choice but to trade away their franchise player earlier this month. The NBA, which currently controls the owner-less team, made sure to extract the maximum value from its biggest asset. Gordon proved his worth right away, knocking down a 20-foot jumper with 4.2 seconds left to provide the winning margin. Fellow trade acquisition Chris Kaman chipped in 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Hornets G Jarrett Jack will make his season debut after serving a one-game suspension.
2. The teams split two meetings last season, with each winning on the road. The Celtics have won five of seven overall.
3. Boston F Kevin Garnett has averaged 18.5 points and 10.9 rebounds in 34 career games against New Orleans.