The Boston Celtics will be seeking a season sweep of the visiting Charlotte Hornets when the teams conclude the regular season on Sunday afternoon.
The Celtics (60-21) won the three previous meetings against the Hornets (19-62), including Friday night’s 130-94 victory in Boston. The Celtics received 69 points from their bench players in that win, including a game-high 22 from Payton Pritchard and 20 from Sam Hauser.
Charlotte trailed by one point at halftime but was outscored 76-41 in the final two quarters.
“We came out (in the first half) with the right focus on both ends of the court, understanding what was going to be necessary for us to defend at a high level, what to take away defensively,” Charlotte coach Charles Lee said. “Then offensively, I thought the pace in which we played with, the togetherness, the ball movement was at a really high level. Even in the third quarter I thought we had a lot of that, too. It’s just that this team (Boston) with their depth, they punish you with any mistake you make. In the second half, I thought we just had too many mistakes.”
The Celtics rested their starters in the fourth quarter of Friday’s win.
With nothing to gain in the standings, Boston reportedly will rest several key players Sunday as well.
Charlotte, which was eliminated from playoff contention last month, hasn’t made the NBA playoffs since the 2015-16 season.
The Hornets have lost six in a row overall and eight straight on the road.
Boston will enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference but won’t know its first-round opponent until after the play-in tournament.
“There’s been some tough moments or whatever it may be, but with one game left in the season I can say that everybody has felt valued, everybody has played a part in our success this season, everybody understands the common goal that we share,” Boston’s Jayson Tatum said. “We know who we are. We know who we are individually. We know what we bring to this team to make it what it is. And we have so much fun doing what we do. You realize when you’re on special teams and you’re with special guys, you just try to cherish those moments.”
Friday’s victory gave the Celtics 60 wins in a season for the 15th time in franchise history. Boston went 64-18 during the 2023-24 regular season, when it went on to win the NBA championship.
“It’s the character of the guys, who they are, their competitive nature,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “They’re the ones that have to compete night in and night out. So it starts with them, and then I think the second piece is the organization, the staff — I think we have one of the best staffs in the league. We’re all young, but the guys love working, and the relationship that the guys have with the staff is super important.
“And then the last piece is that it’s your job. Our job is to move the organization forward. Your job is to win when you work and play for the Celtics, and you have to take that on.”
–Field Level Media
