Celtics at Hornets
The Boston Celtics are falling off the pace in their effort to earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs but are more concerned with being healthy and playing well before the playoffs start. The Celtics will try to bounce back from a pair of losses when they host the floundering Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.
Boston occupied the top spot in the East before getting blown out at home on Wednesday in a showdown against the Cleveland Cavaliers and dropping a 123-116 decision at Atlanta on Thursday to open the two-game trip. "We came out and let (the Hawks) hit us first," Celtics forward Jae Crowder told reporters. "We’ve been doing that for like a week now. We’ve gotten away with a couple of wins here and there, but it’s bad habits. We let it carry over (from the previous night’s loss to Cleveland) and we gotta stop that. Hopefully come next game against Charlotte we’ll hit first." The Hornets were making a run at one of the last spots in the East postseason bracket before back-to-back losses dropped them three games behind the No. 8 spot. "These games have been taxing," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford told reporters after a 112-99 home loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday. "We’ve been playing every game like an elimination game. I think you could see right from the beginning we had no legs. Some nights you’re disappointed because you think they can play harder. I don’t think that was the case at all."
TV: 6 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), FSN Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (50-29): Crowder is dealing with an elbow injury that left the joint swollen and painful before Thursday's game, but he fought through the pain and delivered 24 points in the loss. "He’s a tough guy, so he’s only going to sit out if he can’t be himself," Boston All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas told reporters of Crowder. "That's what we love about him. And he’s going to give it his all each and every time he’s out there." Crowder, who suffered the injury in a win over the New York Knicks on Sunday, is averaging 16.7 points over the last 11 games while serving as a key wing defender.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (36-43): Charlotte made a run at the No. 8 spot with wins in three straight but fell off the pace against Southeast Division foes Washington and Miami in the last two contests and are on the verge of being mathematically eliminated from contention. The Hornets allowed the Heat to make a franchise-record 21 3-pointers in Wednesday's setback after letting the Wizards go 17-of-34 from beyond the arc in the previous contest. Charlotte finished up a stretch of six games in nine days with the loss to Miami and finishes out the regular season against three teams above it in the East - Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hornets PF Marvin Williams scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting on Wednesday after totaling six points on 1-of-12 in the previous two contests.
2. Celtics SG Avery Bradley is 7-of-27 from the floor and 1-of-11 from 3-point range in two games since returning from an illness.
3. Boston took the first three meetings this season and seven of the last eight in the series.