Sam Hauser bricked a 3-pointer, Jrue Holiday followed up with his own and Payton Pritchard front-rimmed one from deep. The Celtics missed three 3-pointers over a 10-second span midway through the fourth quarter but rebounded each one before the ball found Derrick White, who hit a teardrop floater.
The Hornets proceeded to call a timeout, and it was their kiss of death.
Shorthanded without Jaylen Brown, on the last leg of their longest road trip of the season and facing a familiar yet inferior foe, the Celtics avoided a letdown. It was a trip that featured some turbulence after back-to-back losses to the Hawks last week, but the Celtics summoned enough energy to close it out the right way with a 118-104 victory over the Hornets on Monday night.
Jayson Tatum scored 25 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 20 as the Celtics pulled away in the second half for their 59th win of the season. They raised their defense down the stretch, and Sam Hauser caught fire with five 3-pointers in the second half to put away the 18-win Hornets, who were led by old friend Grant Williams’ 23 points and seven rebounds.
