The Charlotte Hornets went 12-for-43 from three on Sunday night.
Twelve made threes on forty-three attempts. Twenty-eight percent. From a team that entered the game leading the NBA in made three-pointers this season — 1,210, with the third-best percentage in the league at 38.2 percent. Five days ago, this same team tied the franchise record with 26 threes against Sacramento. Five days later, 12-for-43 on its own floor against a Boston team missing two of its three best players.
The Celtics won 114-99. The final score flatters Charlotte.
Boston led by 19 in the first half, holding the Hornets to 5-of-21 from deep before the break. Charlotte clawed back to within nine in the fourth quarter — the kind of run that had been routine during the five-game streak — and Jayson Tatum launched a three over Miles Bridges from the top of the key, stared into the crowd, and pointed. The lead was back to 16. Payton Pritchard's layup pushed it to 17 with 3:52 left, and Charles Lee emptied the bench.
Two consecutive home losses — Saturday's collapse against Philadelphia and now this. The five-game win streak is a memory. The record is 39-36 with seven games remaining.
Tatum Scored a Season-High 32. Boston Was Missing Brown and White.
Jayson Tatum put up 32 points on 12-of-23 shooting, including 5-of-10 from three, with 8 assists. Season high. He became the youngest Celtic in franchise history to reach 14,000 career points.
He did it without Jaylen Brown, who sat with left Achilles tendinitis, and without Derrick White, who missed the game with a right knee contusion. Boston's two best perimeter defenders. Their second and third-best scorers.
Pritchard, starting for Brown for the second straight game, scored 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting and went 6-for-6 from the foul line. In eight games without Brown, Pritchard has averaged 25.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 7.3 assists. Neemias Queta added 17 points and 8 rebounds.
The victory was the Celtics' 50th of the season — the twelfth consecutive year Boston has made the playoffs. The last franchise to sustain a 50-win streak that long was the Larry Bird Celtics of the 1980s.
What Went Wrong for Charlotte
LaMelo Ball was the one Hornet who shot well: 19 points on 7-of-13 from the field, 2-of-5 from three. Efficient and controlled. It did not matter, because the rest of the roster shot 29-of-70 from the field and 10-of-38 from deep.
Brandon Miller finished with 13 points on 3-of-11 shooting and three turnovers. The second-year leap that carried the five-game streak was absent. Kon Knueppel had 13 points and 6 rebounds with two blocks, but went 1-of-3 from three — pushing his season total to 257, four away from passing Kemba Walker's franchise record of 261. The rookie record chase stalls for a night.
Bridges played heavy minutes and scored 14 points on 2-of-9 shooting. One-of-four from three. Moussa Diabaté was held to 6 points on 1-of-5. Coby White, the stretch-run bench spark who had scored 27 against Sacramento and 16 against Philadelphia, managed 5 points on 2-of-7. Sion James went 1-of-8 from the field.
The shooting collapse was comprehensive. Ball was the exception. Everyone else contributed to the 28 percent.
Seven Games, No Margin
Charlotte is 39-36 with seven remaining. The Hornets have clinched a spot in the play-in tournament, but seeding is everything. The difference between the 9-vs-10 game — one loss and elimination — and the 7-vs-8 game, which offers a second chance, is the difference between a real postseason shot and a coin flip.
Two consecutive home losses after five straight wins means the cushion is gone. Charlotte visits Brooklyn on Tuesday, then hosts Phoenix on Thursday. The Hornets who shot 28 percent from three on Sunday are not the same team that tied the franchise record five days ago. Charlotte has not made the playoffs in a decade. The math says they still control their own destiny. The shooting has to come back.
Seven games. No margin.