Celtics at Bobcats
Losing one of their top players has somehow turned the Boston Celtics into one of the NBA's hottest teams, and they'll try to win their eighth consecutive game without Rajon Rondo when they travel to Charlotte to face the woeful Bobcats on Monday night. The Celtics are undefeated since losing Rondo (torn ACL) for the remainder of the season Jan. 25. They've since lost forward Jared Sullinger (back surgery) for the rest of the year, but they've kept rolling along and outlasted Denver for a triple-overtime victory Sunday.
The Bobcats have lost seven straight, but their struggles have gone on much longer. They've dropped 34 of 38 games since a 7-5 start and rank 28th in the league in offensive efficiency and 30th in defensive efficiency. It's the second of four meetings this season, with Boston having won 100-89 at home Jan. 14. The Celtics have won four straight meetings and 10 of the last 12.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), SportSouth (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (27-23): Boston dropped three games below .500 on the day Rondo went down, but instead of fading the Celtics have rebounded with their other veteran stars leading the way. Paul Pierce (18.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists) recorded his eighth career triple-double Sunday against the Nuggets and has averaged 18.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 7.3 assists since Rondo's injury. Kevin Garnett (15.2 points, 7.5 rebounds) also has turned it on during the win streak, averaging 17.9 points and 9.7 boards.
ABOUT THE BOBCATS (11-39): Not much has gone right for Charlotte since the early part of the season, but the Bobcats are getting healthy. Forward Byron Mullens has averaged 15.8 points and 7.8 rebounds in four games since returning from an ankle sprain and rookie forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is easing back to action after missing two games with a concussion. The Bobcats desperately need that duo's presence in the post to complement a solid guard trio of Kemba Walker (17.3 points, 5.6 assists), Ramon Sessions (15 points) and Ben Gordon (12.9 points).
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Celtics are trying to record their third sweep of back-to-back sets this season. They are 6-6 on the second day of back-to-backs.
2. The Bobcats are 5-33 when trailing after three quarters.
3. Bobcats SF Gerald Henderson has scored in double figures in five consecutive games, including his first double-double of the season Friday against the Lakers.