Maybe it was because it was an NBA Cup game. Maybe it was because Jayson Tatum was visiting his old stomping grounds. Maybe it was because the Celtics caught fire from 3. Mix that all together with a few notable absences from the Hornets roster and we got a 119-80 Boston blowout at The Spectrum Center on Friday Night.
Why the Celtics won
Before being drafted in 2023, Hornets’ Brandon Miller called Paul George his GOAT. You can certainly see the similarities. The lanky 6’9 swingmen are both three level scorers with the biggest
difference being the decade-plus between them.
Unfortunately, Miller left the game in the second half with a groin soreness with 8 points, a rebound, assist, steal, and block.
His idol put up similar numbers. Miller hit just 3-of-10; George was worse at 3-of-11.
However, the mutual admiration society doesn’t end there. Tatum once posted back in 2015 when he was at Chaminade that he was “Baby PG” and even boasted that he thinks that he was the first college player to wear the PG1s at Duke.
And whenever the Celtics travel down to North Carolina, it’s always going to be a special trip for Tatum. Even though The Hive is 150 miles away from Cameron Indoor Stadium, Tatum just has superpowers playing in Charlotte. Out of the 29 other NBA teams, Tatum averages the most points against the Hornets at nearly 30 per game. And in an NBA Cup game where point differential matters, the defending Player of the Week scored 34 points in just 29 minutes. He was 11-for-11 from the free throw line and 5-of-8 from behind the arc and neared triple-double territory with eight rebounds and nine assists without playing a minute in the fourth quarter.
Numbers game: 24
The Celtics flirted with the NBA record for most threes in a game at 29, a feat they tied on Opening Night in 2024 against the Knicks. Boston had 17 at halftime and had it not been a blowout, they might have hit at least five more.
Instead, they settled for the NBA Cup record at 24 (on 44 attempts).
Must C’s
Up the eastern seaboard, the Maine Celtics opened their G League season against the Westchester Knicks in blowout fashion as well 123-94. Rookie Dillon Mitchell had six dunks and a triple, including this alley-oop from Milos Uzan.
Uzan and Chris Cenac Jr. had 21 a piece in the win.
Who said what
“Just trying to channel my anger into love.” — head coach Joe Mazzulla to CelticsBlog’s Noa Dalzell on his mid-game hug with Neemias Queta
Mazzulla called a timeout because Queta fell down (again) and instead of just yelling at him, he gave him a hug.
After two games, the Celtics are 2-0 with a +53 differential. After the Hawks beat the Wizards 139-132 on Friday night, Boston stands alone at the top of the Eastern Conference’s Group C. They’ll continue this leg of their road-heavy November with a stop in Milwaukee on Sunday and then the marquee face-melter on Tuesday against the 76ers.
