Without Derrick White and Jaylen Brown, Boston went into the Spectrum Center and [beat Charlotte 114-99](/celtics-scores-results/136886/jayson-tatum-leads-celtics-to-50th-win-of-the-season-picks-apart-hornets-in-114-99-win) in Jayson Tatum’s first 30-plus game of the year and 28 points from Payton Pritchard.
The Celtics got crushed by the Hornets just three weeks ago 118-89 at TD Garden and had won seven of their last nine games, but strong contributions from role players up and down the rotation was too much for the Hornets to overcome on the second night of a back-to-back. They’ll play each other again on April 7th back in Boston in what could be a first round preview.
With two weeks to go, the Celtics have clinched a spot in the playoffs and been a steady [+600 at our friends at FanDuel to raise Banner 19](https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba?tab=nba-finals) and the favorite to rep the Eastern Conference in the 2026 NBA Finals.
_30 minutes, 32 points (5-10 from 3, 3-5 from the free throw line, 12-23 from the field), 5 rebounds, 8 assists, one block, +15_
Maybe it was because the game was so close to Durham where he played his college ball or maybe he’s starting to feel more like himself at Game #11, but Jayson Tatum looked really like Jayson Tatum against the Hornets.
The three-point shot was going down (hitting half of his ten three-point attempts), but more importantly, his drives were more aggressive, getting to the cup and the free throw line. He became the youngest Celtic ever to hit 14,000 points.
_33 minutes, 7 points (2-4 from 3, 1-2 from the free throw line, 2-4 from the field), 3 rebounds, +13_
It was another game that felt like Hauser was just out there. He made half of his four attempts from behind the arc and was a +13 playing mostly with the starters.
_28 minutes, 17 points (0-1 from 3, 1-2 from the free throw line, 8-13 from the field), 8 rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block, +13_
It always seems like when one of the Jays has it going, Queta is going to have a good game, too. It’s that symbiotic relationship between superstar and active big. Whenever the defense collapsed on Tatum or Pritchard, Queta either got the dish in the dunker spot or grabbed the offensive rebound for a putback.
_33 minutes, 3 points (0-4 from 3, 1-1 from the free throw line, 1-7 from the field), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, one steal, +14_
As LaMelo Ball’s primary cover, Walsh put the clamps on him as a starter. Ball missed his first five shots of the game — he scored his first points in transition cross-matched against Pritchard. Ball would get it going in the second half and finish with 19, but Walsh’s work early cut off the head of the snake and allowed Boston to get out to an early double-digit lead and never look back.
In addition to his individual defense, Walsh got his hands on a lot of loose balls and deflected even more in Boston’s favor.
_37 minutes, 28 points (2-6 from 3, 6-6 from the free throw line, 10-18 from the field), 6 rebounds, 6 assists, one steal, 2 turnovers, +12_
With Brown and White both out, Pritchard started for just the second time since being regulated back to the bench since the Celtics swapped Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic. He didn’t disappoint. Eight of his buckets came in the mid-range
_28 minutes, 14 points (3-7 from 3, 3-4 from the free throw line, 4-11 from the field), one rebound, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, +6_
Scheierman broke into the rotation playing solid defense and hitting his threes, but over the last few weeks, we’re getting a little more of the Baylor Showmanship that got us excited at the end of last season. I mean, look at this:
He had the most points off the bench (14) on a night when they were sorely needed with two starters out with injuries.
_13 minutes, 2 points (1-1 from the field), one rebounds, +8_
The Hornets are primarily a perimeter team, so Garza played just 13 minutes in Charlotte for a +8 stint. No complaints.
_12 minutes, 3 points (1-2 from 3, 1-2 from the field), 3 rebounds, one steal, -12_
Gonzalez’s minutes are on the decline since the start of March. He’s played in every game and has injected that infectious energy that sometimes seems to swing the momentum in Boston’s favor when they need it. He took a couple of cracks at LaMelo and made a three-pointer.
_14 minutes, 7 points (1-1 from 3, 3-3 from the field), 3 rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block, +10_
Dude just floats around the court and finds ways to score. Before spraining his right ankle and leaving the game for the locker room, he bridged the first and second quarter hitting all three of his shots in a variety of ways: cutting backdoor on a screen, driving in semi-transition, and leaking out and canning a 3. He’s been a valuable contributor on his two-way deal and hopefully, he’ll sign with the big club this summer.
Mop up duty for the Maine crew.
**Inactive:** Jaylen Brown, Derrick White