The Celtics looked comfortable with an 18-point lead with 8:21 left. They were making all the right plays and it appeared they have finally pushed back a game but shorthanded and inferior opponent.
And then the next 8:21 happened, perhaps the worst stretch of basketball in the Brad Stevens era and a stretch and could cost them their confidence and a shot at homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Celtics scored 5 points in the final 8:21, and yielded a stirring 30-5 Charlotte surge as the Hornets woke up and stung Boston, 124-117, at the Spectrum Center.
BOX SCORE: HORNETS 124, CELTICS 117
A Jaylen Brown layup gave the Celtics a 112-94 lead with 8:21 left and then they relaxed. Charlotte countered with a 12-0 run and then All-Star Kemba Walker got cooking. He scored 12 straight points, finishing with 36 along with 11 rebounds and 9 assists.
The Celtics led by 4 with 1:53 left after a Kyrie Irving layup but Walker countered with a layup and then stepback 3-pointer for a 118-117 lead with 1:19 left. Irving tried matching Walker but failed, missing a 3-pointer and then having the ball stolen in the backcourt by Miles Bridges with a chance to go ahead with 42.4 left.
After Marvin Williams canned two free throws for a 3-point lead, Jayson Tatum missed a 3-point attempt and Marcus Morris missed the follow. The Celtics were cooked, yet again tumbling to another low point.
It was a frustrating first half because despite shooting 53.3 percent and hitting 11 3-pointers, the Celtics found themselves only ahead, 64-63.
But the Celtics’s concerns were more with rookie center Robert Williams, who was injured in the second quarter after falling on the floor after a missed putback dunk. The rookie, who made his first NBA start, left the game with a bruised lower back after landing hard.
Williams walked off the floor under his own power but went directly to the locker room and did not return to the bench. The Celtics were more shorthanded in the middle without the injured Al Horford and Aron Baynes, leaving Daniel Theis to play most of the second half.
The Celtics came in off a two-day break and two losses in a row and looked crisp early on the offensive end, moving the ball and finding open shooters. Irving looked especially energized, scoring 16 points in the opening period as the Celtics led, 35-29.
Also critical to the Celtics’ success moving forward is the bench contribution of Jaylen Brown, who scored 17 first-half points on 6-for-8 shooting and 3-for-3 from the 3-point line.
Williams looked comfortable in his first start, contributing 2 points with 3 rebounds and 2 blocked shots before being injured, perhaps giving Stevens more confidence to use him during the stretch run.
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