Celtics at Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets have had plenty of time to digest a win over the New York Knicks on Friday that snapped a 10-game slide. The Hornets will try to make it two straight wins when they host the suddenly frisky Boston Celtics on Wednesday. The Celtics endured their own long losing streak bridging November and December but pulled out of the slump with three straight wins before falling in double overtime at Washington on Monday.
Boston overcame a 16-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to force overtime Monday as coach Brad Stevens leaned on the reserves. “Those guys deserved to play at the end because they got us right back in it,” Stevens told reporters. “It was nothing against the guys that started; it’s just when you go down from 20-whatever; we were back in the game. Those guys deserve to play.” Charlotte squandered a 20-point lead against the Knicks but pulled it out on Kemba Walker’s last-second layup.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), SportSouth (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (7-12): Rookie guard Marcus Smart is still rounding into shape after missing 10 games with an ankle injury and was restricted to a total of 13 minutes in his first three games back before Stevens took the reins off and played him 35 minutes Monday, including most of the final 27 as Boston came back. Smart responded with season highs of 23 points and five assists while playing strong defense against Washington point guard John Wall. “(Smart) just changes the pace of the game, especially on defense,” forward Kelly Olynyk told reporters “He’s up on people, making plays on the defensive end, whether it’s steals, a couple of charges, or just making it tough, wearing guys down.”
ABOUT THE HORNETS (5-15): Charlotte nearly broke through against Chicago last Wednesday before edging the Knicks, and the improvement of Lance Stephenson was notable in both contests. Stephenson, who signed as a free agent in the offseason, is averaging 10.4 points on 38.5 percent shooting — including 16.7 percent from 3-point range — after putting up 13.8 points on 49.1 percent shooting with the Indiana Pacers last season. The 24-year-old averaged 18 points in the last two games while going 16-of-33 from the field.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Celtics took two of the three meetings last season, including a 96-86 win at Charlotte on Nov. 25, 2013.
2. Boston got 82 points off the bench Monday.
3. Charlotte F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (foot) has missed 12 straight games but could return Wednesday.