Well-rested Jayson Tatum tallied 34 points in a stellar outing as the Boston Celtics blew out the host Charlotte Hornets 119-80 on Friday night.
Derrick White notched 18 points and Payton Pritchard came off the bench to score 12 points for the Celtics, who were buoyed by a 40-point first quarter.
Tatum, who sat out for the first time this season Wednesday vs. Milwaukee as part of designed rest, had 24 points by halftime on 8-for-14 shooting that included five 3-point connections. By game’s end, he was 11-for-11 on free throws.
The Hornets suffered their sixth consecutive loss, falling to 2-4 in home games. They shot 29.3% from the floor, making 11 of 50 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.
Charlotte’s Naz Reid had 14 points and reserves Tidjane Salaun and Sion James added 13 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench. Brandon Miller struggled again with eight points on 3-for-10 shooting, missing all three of his 3-point attempts.
Miller left the game at halftime with right groin soreness.
The Celtics bolted to a 21-7 lead, connecting on four 3-points during that span. The spread mushroomed to 42-20 a minute into the second quarter, with the Hornets at 2-for-16 from 3-point territory at the time.
Boston had nine 3-point baskets before Charlotte had nine total field goals. The margin grew to 62-31 before settling at 70-39 at halftime.
Charlotte shot 27.7% in the first half, which ended with Boston tallying 17 3-point field goals, compared to the Hornets with 13 total field goals. Through three quarters, Charlotte was held to 57 points.
This shaped up similar to Charlotte’s 128-81 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in its home opener last month.
With Charlotte center Moussa Diabate out with a quadriceps ailment, Ryan Kalkbrenner moved into the starting lineup. The Hornets also switched up with Grayson Allen starting in place of Sion James, but Allen was scoreless in 22 minutes. Kalkbrenner managed four points in 21 minutes.
