Payton Pritchard tossed in a game-high 34 points to help the Boston Celtics defeat the visiting Charlotte Hornets 93-86 Sunday on the final day of the NBA’s regular season.
Charlotte, which trailed by 21 early, tied the game 86-86 on a Moussa Diabate layup with 2:13 to play, but Boston regained control by scoring the game’s final seven points. The Celtics (61-21) won all four meetings with the Hornets (19-63) this season.
As expected, the Celtics rested most of their top players. Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford were all ruled out on Boston’s injury report.
Boston received 15 points from Sam Hauser and 11 points and eight rebounds from Luke Kornet. Jordan Walsh added 10 points and eight rebounds.
Josh Okogie and Jusuf Nurkic each scored a team-high 14 points for Charlotte. Nurkic also collected nine rebounds.
Boston will enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and will open the playoffs against either Orlando or Atlanta. The Magic and Hawks will meet in the play-in tournament Tuesday and the winner of that game will earn the No. 7 seed.
Charlotte hasn’t made the NBA playoffs since the 2015-16 season.
The Hornets ended the season on a seven-game losing streak and lost their last eight road games, securing the league’s third-worst record. Charlotte finished 5-31 against teams that have a record above .500.
Boston used a 16-0 run to take a 24-5 lead and had a 33-15 advantage after 12 minutes. The Celtics made 7-of-14 3-point attempts in the quarter and extended their lead to 54-43 at halftime.
A 9-0 run allowed Charlotte to pull within five points, 57-52, with 9:58 remaining in the third. The Hornets took a 64-63 lead on a Diabate dunk with 2:15 left in the quarter, but Boston carried a 69-68 lead into the fourth quarter.
–Field Level Media
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