CHARLOTTE – Hornets forward Miles Bridges, recently reinstated from an NBA suspension, drilled a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left in overtime as Charlotte pulled off a 121-118 upset victory against the visiting Boston Celtics on Monday.
Charlotte delivered a startling fourth-quarter comeback, scoring the last nine points in regulation over a span of the final two minutes, en route to snapping a four-game losing streak.
LaMelo Ball contributed 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Hornets. Ex-Celtic Gordon Hayward had 20 points, Mark Williams posted 18 points and 16 rebounds, Bridges finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds and P.J. Washington had 15 points off the bench.
Jayson Tatum scored 31 of his 45 points in the first half for the Celtics, whose six-game winning streak ended. He also had team-high totals in rebounds (13) and assists (six).
Boston’s Payton Pritchard produced 21 points off the bench, while teammates Kristaps Porzingis (17 points), Jaylen Brown (13) and Jrue Holiday (11) were also in double figures.
After Bridges’ basket, Tatum made two free throws and Hayward matched that to account for the final score.
Until the final minutes Monday, the Celtics had a wildly successful four-game road trip — and they were greeted by many of their adoring fans on this final stop.
Bridges played in his third game since serving a suspension stemming from a domestic violence case, but he was in the starting lineup for the first time. Bridges replaced Washington.
Charlotte, which was down 11 points with six minutes left, trailed 108-99 with two minutes to go before rallying.
Williams’ putback of an offensive rebound made it a two-point game with 33 seconds left.
Holiday missed a pair of free throws with 10.1 seconds to play in regulation, and Ball’s driving, double-clutch layup tied the score with seven seconds left. Boston’s Sam Hauser missed a potential winning shot at the regulation buzzer.
The Celtics led 65-54 at halftime. Charlotte was within 90-87 on Washington’s jumper with about 9 1/2 minutes to play.
Ball had 17 first-half points, but that seemed pedestrian compared to Tatum, who shot 10-for-15 from the floor and sank five 3-pointers in the half.
–Field Level Media