Celtics at Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets and the Boston Celtics are both on the outside looking in at the top eight in the Eastern Conference. The Hornets will be trying to jump past the Celtics when they host the final meeting of the regular season between the teams on Monday. Boston is coming in on the second night of a back-to-back after getting pounded 119-106 at home by the Los Angeles Clippers and subsequently surrendering its hold on the No. 8 spot.
The Celtics had no answer for the Clippers’ starting backcourt of Chris Paul and J.J. Redick and fell behind by as much as 35 points in the third quarter before a brief rally made the final score more respectable. Charlotte caught a break on Saturday when visiting Atlanta rested all five of its starters and took advantage with a 115-100 victory that snapped a three-game slide. The Hornets enter the matchup a half-game behind the Celtics and one game behind eighth-place Brooklyn.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), SportsSouth (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (32-41): Boston finished up the Western Conference portion of its schedule with the Clippers on Sunday and will go a long way toward determining its ultimate fate this week with games against Charlotte, Indiana, Milwaukee and Toronto. The Celtics got a total of five points from the starting backcourt of Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley on 2-of-13 shooting on Sunday, and Smart is 4-of-20 in the last four games. Picking up some of the slack is Isaiah Thomas, who has averaged 18.5 points in the last two games while working back from a back injury.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (31-41): Charlotte has a backcourt that could give Boston fits just like the Clippers and Gerald Henderson, Kemba Walker and Mo Williams combined for 59 points and 14 assists in the win over the Hawks on Saturday. The Hornets were held under 90 points in losses to Brooklyn and Chicago but started to find their offense in a 110-107 loss at Washington on Friday before putting it together against Atlanta. “Moving forward, (Monday) has big implications obviously,” Henderson told the Charlotte Observer. “We want to make the playoffs – that’s what it comes down to. Whoever wants that game more will win the game.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Charlotte F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (ankle) sat out Saturday and is not expected back for Monday.
2. Celtics F Brandon Bass is 15-of-27 from the field in the last four games.
3. Boston took the last meeting, 106-98 at home on Feb. 27, after dropping the first two of the season.