Kon Knueppel scored 20 points to lead the Charlotte Hornets to a 118-89 blowout win over the Boston Celtics. This was their sixth win in a row. With the win, Charlotte’s record improved to 32-31, which is their first time above.500 since October 26. Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball each scored 18 points, and Coby White added 17 points and six assists to the team’s strong performance.
The Hornets took an 8-0 lead right away because Boston missed their first eight shots. They never looked back and led by as much as 29 points. Charlotte only turned the ball over five times the whole game, and they had a huge 64-43 lead at halftime. They also forced the Celtics to make 16 mistakes that led to 21 points. Their sharp play was a big difference from Boston’s slow shooting (30-of-79) and bad three-point shooting (10-of-36) on the second night of a back-to-back.
Derrick White led Boston with 29 points, but Jaylen Brown had 20 points and 11 rebounds in a losing effort that ended their three-game winning streak (41-21 record). The defending champions looked tired after playing six games in nine days and couldn’t fight back against Charlotte’s defense. The home team was always behind because the Hornets had few turnovers and a quick start.
Charlotte plays Miami on Friday, hoping to keep their winning streak going. Boston welcomes Dallas on the same day and wants to bounce back quickly. This upset shows how well the Hornets are doing with their best players.
