BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Charlotte rookie Kon Kneuppel tossed in 20 points as the visiting Hornets beat the Boston Celtics 118-89 on Wednesday for their sixth consecutive win. LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller each added 18 points for Charlotte, which received 17 points and six assists from Coby White. Moussa Diabate finished with nine points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Each victory in the Hornets’ six win streak came by at least 16 points as Charlotte (32-31) moved over the .500 mark for the first time since they were 2-1 in October. The Hornets lost 14 of their first 18 games.
Charlotte, which has a 16-3 record in its past 19 games, scored the first eight points and never trailed.
Boston’s Derrick White led all scorers with 29 points. Jaylen Brown added 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, but he shot 7 of 19 from the field. No other Boston player scored more than nine points.
The Celtics’ Payton Pritchard missed each of his six field-goal attempts and failed to score. Pritchard entered the contest averaging 17.1 points per game.
Boston, which had won 12 of its previous 14 games, finished 30 of 79 (38%) from the field.
Grant Williams (knee) and Tidjane Salaun (knee) didn’t play for Charlotte. Salaun was injured in the Hornets’ Tuesday victory over the Dallas Mavericks. The Hornets elected to not play Williams on the second night of back-to-back contests.
Charlotte had a 35-23 advantage after one quarter and led 64-43 at halftime. The Hornets made 12 of 25 3-point attempts in the first half.
Boston cut its deficit to 14 points with 7:44 left in the third on two free throws from White, but a 12-2 run put the Hornets up 82-58 when Knueppel sank a layup. Charlotte had a 91-68 lead after three quarters.
The Wednesday contest opened the teams’ three-game season series. Boston will play at Charlotte on March 29, and the Hornets will visit the Celtics on April 7.
–Field Level Media