Hornets sting the Celtics 87 to 86

The New Orleans Hornets defeated the Boston Celtics 87 to 86  at the New Orleans arena tonight. In a classic hangover game for the C’s, they looked a little drained from tip-off. They had a small lead going into the half, but then decided to do the OPPOSITE of what the Heat did in the second half and not score at all. This woeful offensive showing let the Hornets back in the game, letting them lead throughout. The game was decided by a crazy tip-in with .3 seconds left for the Hornets seal the deal.

The first half lead was spurred by Jeff Green picking up where he left off, attacking the basket early and often. The Celtics tired legs showed tonight, as they only scored 6 fast break points and were outrebounded 28 to 45. The Hornets pressured the ball really well tonight, causing many turnovers for Avery Bradley. 

Even though the Hornets are bottom feeders in the west, they hung in this game. Greivis Vasquez is a good player and wasn’t intimidated by Bradley’s defense at all. Vasquez attacked Bradley off the dribble, got to the rim often, and even drew a foul or two off the ‘Game Changer’. Vasquez was the leader for the Hornets scoring 13 points, dishing 6 assists and grabbing 7 rebounds. Eric Gordon didn’t shoot well but chipped in with 18 points.

Paul Pierce tried to lead this team mid-way through the third quarter, taking over to will his way within reach of the win; he finished with 28 points on 9 of 17 shooting. It was good to see Kevin Garnett return to the starting lineup, he looked good scoring 20 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. This game tonight pretty much came down to a 3rd quarter scoring drought for the C’s and allowing the Hornets to score 42 points in the paint. Bottom line, a combination of bad offense and bad defense cost the C’s a winnable game tonight.


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