Celtics at Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets have enjoyed a solid season but find themselves in
the midst of a slump when they host the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
Charlotte has lost four of its last five games but hopes to begin
turning things around in the opener of a four-game homestand.
The Hornets' troubles continued with a 102-95 loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday as they shot 34.9 percent from the field. Center Cody Zeller had 10 points for his second straight outing in double digits and he will see a lot of older brother Tyler, who had 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting in Boston's 113-99 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. Tyler Zeller could receive increased minutes with starting center Jared Sullinger (back) and power forward Amir Johnson (foot) both battling injures that threaten to sidelined them for a second consecutive game. Boston snapped a three-game slide with the win, in which it made 12-of-25 3-point attempts and held a 50-36 rebounding advantage.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), FSN Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (15-13): Veteran power forward David Lee moved into the starting lineup with Johnson out and produced 13 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes against Minnesota. Lee had scored in single digits in each of the previous three games and coach Brad Stevens insists he's a valuable commodity. "I think David's been solid," Stevens told reporters. "If you look at what David does well, if you look at what he's done well the last few years, he's been solid. I thought he was a good, solid player. And he's done a lot of good things."
ABOUT THE HORNETS (15-12): The starting backcourt of Kemba Walker (14 points) and Nicolas Batum (nine points) were a combined 6-of-21 shooting in the loss against Houston. Walker has slumped through Charlotte's five-game rough stretch by shooting 35.4 percent from the field and reaching 20 points just once, while Batum is averaging 9.7 points on 33.3 percent shooting over his past three contests. Backup guard Jeremy Lin has averaged 21 points during Batum's three-game funk - most of it coming in a season-best 35-point outing against Toronto last Thursday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Celtics have won the last three meetings, including a 98-93 victory on Dec. 12.
2. Boston SF Jae Crowder is averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds over the past two contests.
3. Charlotte C Al Jefferson will sit out the final contest of a five-game suspension for violating the NBA's drug policy.