Celtics at Hornets
The Boston Celtics will try to summon some energy when they return to the road to take on the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday. The Celtics took the unbeaten Golden State Warriors to double overtime on Friday night before finally succumbing 124-119, which marked the third straight time their winning streak had been halted at two games.
Kelly Olynyk shined off the bench in the emotional loss with 28 points and three steals as Boston fell for just the third time in its last nine games. While the Celtics were fighting tooth and nail deep into the night, the Hornets were able to rest their regulars down the stretch in an impressive 123-99 win at Memphis on Friday. Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum each made 5-of-8 from 3-point range and combined for 53 points as Charlotte matched a season high with its fourth consecutive win. The Hornets' 18 3-pointers were a season high and allowed the squad to easily erase an early 11-0 deficit.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), FSN Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (13-10): Olynyk's big night is part of a nice surge for the third-year pro, whose season got off to a rough start and who only recently has seen an uptick in minutes. After averaging 6.6 points on 37.3 percent shooting in November, he has scored at least 21 points in three of his five games this month while hitting on 57.1 percent of his shots. Fellow big man Jared Sullinger has ripped down 49 rebounds in a three-game stretch.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (14-8): Walker had four points in a rough outing against Golden State to begin the month but has rebounded nicely. In four games since, he is averaging 20.5 points and his hot-shooting night Friday followed up a solid showing against Miami in which he had five steals and no turnovers in 31 minutes. Walker had 28 points and 12 assists the last time these two teams met.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Celtics F Jae Crowder is 14-of-29 from 3-point range in his last six games.
2. The Celtics have won the second half of their last three back-to-backs.
3. Opponents are averaging 90 points during Charlotte's four-game winning streak.