Halftime Report
The Celtics are on the road but looking no worse for wear. They have jumped out to a 71-67 lead against the Hornets.
If the Celtics keep playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 5-1 in no time. On the other hand, the Hornets will have to make due with a 2-3 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who's Playing
Boston Celtics @ Charlotte Hornets
Current Records: Boston 4-1, Charlotte 2-2
How To Watch
- When: Friday, November 1, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Spectrum Center -- Charlotte, North Carolina
- TV: FanDuel SN - Charlotte
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $24.00
What to Know
The Celtics will be playing the full four quarters on Friday, but they're expected to have things wrapped up well before that. They will head out on the road to challenge the Charlotte Hornets at 7:00 p.m. ET at Spectrum Center. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
The Celtics fought the good fight in their overtime game against the Pacers on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of Indiana by a score of 135-132. Boston's loss signaled the end of their five-game winning streak dating back to last season.
The Celtics' defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Jayson Tatum, who posted 37 points in addition to eight rebounds and four steals, and Derrick White, who went 8 for 9 en route to 23 points. The dominant performance also gave White a new career-high in field goal percentage (88.9%).
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask the Hornets). They managed a 138-133 victory over the Raptors on Wednesday. With that win, Charlotte brought their scoring average up to 118.5 points per game.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead the Hornets to victory, but perhaps none more so than Nick Richards, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 14 rebounds. Richards is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down 12 or more in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Cody Martin, who went 9 for 11 en route to 25 points.
The Hornets smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in five consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Having lost for the first time this season, Boston fell to 4-1. As for Charlotte, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's matchup: The Celtics have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 21 threes per game. However, it's not like the Hornets struggle in that department as they've been averaging 17.2. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went the Celtics' way against the Hornets in their previous matchup back in April, as the Celtics made off with a 131-98 win. In that match, the Celtics amassed a halftime lead of 69-43, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Odds
Boston is a big 10.5-point favorite against Charlotte, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Celtics as a 11.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 231.5 points.
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Series History
Boston has won 8 out of their last 10 games against Charlotte.
- Apr 12, 2024 - Boston 131 vs. Charlotte 98
- Apr 01, 2024 - Boston 118 vs. Charlotte 104
- Nov 20, 2023 - Charlotte 121 vs. Boston 118
- Feb 10, 2023 - Boston 127 vs. Charlotte 116
- Jan 16, 2023 - Boston 130 vs. Charlotte 118
- Jan 14, 2023 - Boston 122 vs. Charlotte 106
- Nov 28, 2022 - Boston 140 vs. Charlotte 105
- Mar 09, 2022 - Boston 115 vs. Charlotte 101
- Feb 02, 2022 - Boston 113 vs. Charlotte 107
- Jan 19, 2022 - Charlotte 111 vs. Boston 102
