The Boston Celtics (60-21) cruised to a 130-94 win over the Charlotte Hornets (19-62) on Friday, April 11, behind strong outings from Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser.
For the second straight year, the Celtics have tallied their 60th win of the season. Pritchard led the way with 22 points and Hauser added 20, while Derrick White chipped in 19. Jayson Tatum filled the stat sheet with 16 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.
Al Horford recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds as Boston pulled away in the second half after leading by just one at halftime. The Celtics outscored Charlotte 37-20 in the third quarter and never looked back.
Jaylen Brown missed the game due to a lingering sore right knee, falling short of the games played threshold for postseason awards. Head coach Joe Mazzulla rested his starters in the fourth quarter as Boston coasted to victory.
Seth Curry paced the Hornets with 17 points and shot 5-for-7 from beyond the arc, raising his 3-point percentage to a league-leading 45.6%, surpassing Sacramento’s Zach LaVine (44.6%).
Boston, which set the NBA record for most 3-pointers made in a season earlier this month, knocked down seven triples in the third quarter alone to break the game open.
The Celtics have now won 60 or more games for the 15th time in franchise history and for the first time in consecutive seasons since 2007-08 and 2008-09.
The teams meet again in Boston on Sunday to close out the regular season.
