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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- On a night when Charlotte had to rely heavily on its starters, all five of them came up big.
The Hornets, down three reserves and Derrick Coleman, had all their starters score in double figures in a 99-87 victory over the
Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
"Boston is not that deep and neither we were tonight, but we've
got a lot of experience on our ballclub and a lot of people
concerned about winning," said Jamal Mashburn, who had 20 points and 12 rebounds.
"We've got a lot of unselfish people on this team who are willing to do the things needed to win games."
David Wesley scored 19 points and Baron Davis had 18 and a
career-high 14 assists. Elden Campbell scored 17 and P.J. Brown
made two free throws in the final minute to finish with 10 points.
The Hornets, without Coleman since Nov. 18, were down three more
players against the Celtics.
Rookie Jamaal Magloire missed his third straight game because of a bone chip in his foot, and guard Eldridge Recasner stayed home because of a virus.
Charlotte then lost forward Eddie Robinson with 19 seconds to
play in the first quarter when he came down hard on his backside on
a missed dunk. Robinson, who had to be helped off the court,
bruised his hip and did not return.
That meant a lot of playing time for the starters, who averaged
38 minutes between them.
"It seems like our bench is getting shorter and you have to know you can't always lean on them," Wesley said. "Some nights we are going to lean on them, but when we can't, we have to be able to find ways to win."
The Hornets got 10 points from reserve Hersey Hawkins, who hit
two big 3-pointers in a 1-1/2 minute span in the fourth quarter to
help Charlotte win its eighth in a row at home.
Boston, meanwhile, lost its third straight. The Celtics have lost five of their last six and are 1-7 on the road this season.
Boston coach Rick Pitino also failed to pick up his 100th victory with the Celtics.
"We were very confident we would win tonight, we felt like we
were well prepared," Pitino said. "But turnovers caused us to
shoot ourselves in the foot and in the second half it seemed like
we were playing offense in a telephone booth."
The Celtics built an early eight-point lead and were up 51-47 at
the half. But they got sloppy in the third quarter, turning the
ball over three times in the first two minutes while Charlotte
grabbed control of the game.
In all, Boston turned the ball over seven times in the quarter,
got only two offensive rebounds and went 0-for-4 from 3-point range
as the Celtics fell behind 73-66.
"The third quarter has been hurting us and I don't know why,"
Boston forward Paul Pierce said. "I don't know if we are coming
out with the same intensity or what it is, but it gets in your head
sometimes."
Antoine Walker led the Celtics with 20 points, 11 rebounds and
10 assists for his sixth career triple-double.
Pierce, who shot a combined 5-for-25 in Boston's last two
losses, finally broke out of his slump by scoring 19 points.
Game notes
Mashburn's career high in rebounds is 13. ... Bryant Stith
had only scored a total of two points in two meetings against the
Hornets last season. He had 14 on Saturday. ... Charlotte has now
won four-straight over Boston and eight of its last 10. ... Hornets
fan John Mitchell of Wilkesboro, N.C., hit a half-court shot
between the first and second quarters to win a new car.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Boston Clubhouse
Charlotte Clubhouse
RECAPS
New Jersey 89
Atlanta 83
Charlotte 99
Boston 87
Cleveland 99
Utah 92
Minnesota 113
Indiana 110
Philadelphia 99
Chicago 91
Denver 102
Houston 100
San Antonio 90
Phoenix 82
Miami 93
Golden State 85
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Antoine Walker Official Site
Baron Davis Official Site
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