Hornets get trampled in second half, fall to reigning champion Celtics

Hornets fall to 19-62 on the season with one game remaining.

Apr 11, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Josh Okogie (12) shoots the ball against the Boston Celtics during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The Charlotte Hornets traveled to Boston for a two game series with the defending champion Celtics, with the first game being Friday night.

The Hornets looked like a team fans have not seen in a long time to start off the game. They were doing exactly what they needed to do to win,

If the Hornets want to beat the Celtics, they need to be able to match the Celtics shooting.

Was written in today's preview. The Hornets did just that. The two teams were tied at 25 after one, with the Hornets hitting the same amount of threes, and nothing the same amount of assists as the Celtics.

Going into halftime it felt the same, as the Hornets trailed 54-53. Charlotte held Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum to 5 points, and the Celtics in general to only 10 three pointers. The Hornets hit 9 of their own, and were matching the Celtics in assists at 15.

Once the third quarter began, things got out of hand.

Between the 2:32 mark of the second quarter, and the 9:39 mark of the third, the Celtics went on a 19-5 run to extend their lead to double digits. The Celtics were able to push the lead to 16 going into the fourth quarter, despite 11 third quarter points on 4-6 shooting from the field, and 3-5 from three from Seth Curry.

The fourth quarter was more of the same, even though the Celtics pulled their starting five of Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis to begin the final stanza. A 21-3 run that started at the 1:34 mark of the third and ended at the 7:00 mark of the fourth put the game out of reach, and the Hornets trailed by as much as 36 in their 130-94 defeat against the reigning champions.

Nick Smith got off to another hot start, but a groin injury saw him leave the game at halftime. He finished with nine points, four rebounds, and four assists.

The good news?

Best of the night: Top Three Draft Odds Secured

Not all is lost! With the Hornets loss tonight, they officially secured top three odds in May's draft lottery. It's the team's second straight year with these lottery odds, and in an ideal world for first-year general manager Jeff Peterson, the 2025 lottery balls field different results in such a loaded draft class.

This also allows less pressure on Sunday's game, as it essentially becomes meaningless in the grand scheme of the lottery. Charles Lee's squad has played so hard each game despite the talent that has been playing, and a win to finish the season could be exhilirating.

Worst of the night: The entire second half

It was that bad. The Hornets trailed by only a single point going into halftime, 54-53. After that they were outscored by 45 points during the second half, allowing the Celtics to crush the Hornets by 36 points.

Outscoring a team by 45 points in one half alone is insanity. The crazier part is they held the Hornets to only 41 points.

Highlight of the night: Seth Curry hits his 82nd three of the season

Why is this important? Well, Curry is now able to qualify to be the NBA's offical leader in three point percentage at the end of the season, which he currently holds at the moment, shooting 45.6% from deep.

.@sdotcurry from behind the arc!

🎥 @FDSN_Hornets | @Lowes pic.twitter.com/eaFNVQBL04

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) April 12, 2025

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