NBA: Jayson Tatum pours in 44 as Celtics top Hornets
ayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics reacts after a three-point shot during a game against the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden on March 6, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. Adam Glanzman/Getty Images/AFP
Jayson Tatum pumped in 44 points as the visiting Boston Celtics recovered from a midgame slide to run away from the Charlotte Hornets in a 115-101 victory Wednesday night.
Tatum shot 16-for-24 from the field, making 6 of 9 3-point attempts. He was 6-for-6 on free throws as he followed up a 54-point effort against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
Jaylen Brown racked up 15 points and Marcus Smart had 12 points and nine assists for the Celtics, who won their fourth game in a row.
💥 TATUM 💥 pic.twitter.com/V6dqYhIaOe
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 10, 2022
Boston’s Robert Williams III (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Al Horford (10, 10) both registered double-doubles, and Derrick White added 11 points.
P.J. Washington and Miles Bridges scored 17 points apiece, LaMelo Ball had 15 points and Terry Rozier posted 14 points for the Hornets. Montrezl Harrell provided 10 points off the bench, and Mason Plumlee pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds.
Tatum scored 41 points in an overtime victory in Charlotte on Oct. 25.
It was the second night in a row that the Hornets gave up a big point total to an opposing player. Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving poured in 50 points in the Nets’ Tuesday victory at Charlotte.
The Hornets continued their shooting woes, going 8-for-32 on 3-point attempts while losing for the 10th time in the past 12 home games.
The Hornets took a brief lead in the third quarter when Ball made a free throw stemming from a technical foul on Tatum. Washington scored on the ensuing possession to put Charlotte up 64-61.
The Celtics responded in a hurry. By the end of the quarter, Tatum was at the line for three free throws on a shooting foul and subsequent technical foul on Charlotte’s Kelly Oubre Jr. with less than a second remaining. Those foul shots boosted Boston’s edge to 87-78.
Boston built a 15-point lead in the second quarter only to have the Hornets trim the gap to 52-48 by halftime. Tatum had 16 points at the half, while Washington had 15.
Boston won three of four meetings with Charlotte this season.
