The Hornets had their destiny and the best start to the season in their history in hand. After a hot start (3-0), they played at home and still had a nine-point lead against Boston four and a half minutes from the buzzer (117-108). Charlotte however suffered, on the night of Monday to Tuesday, her first defeat of the season, at the end of the suspense, in overtime (129-140).
Twenty-four hours after scoring 31 points in Houston, Celtics winger Jayson Tatum did it again and did even better with 41 points in North Carolina, including a shovelful of game-changing shots, an assist for a Robert Williams dunk ( 12 points, 16 rebounds) at the end of regulation time to take control in a lightning 12-2 (120-119, 47th), then the two free throws allowing, after a 3-point shot from LaMelo Ball (25 points at 7/19, 7/14 at 3 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds), to get the extra time.
The Awakening of Dennis Schroder
In a fast-paced game, which saw no less than twenty-eight lead changes, the Celtics – who attempted a whopping 50 3-point shots for 19 converted – then made the difference in overtime, thanks to Jaylen Brown (5 of his 30 points during overtime, at 12/20, with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals) and especially their new leader Dennis Schroder.
The German, after a missed season with the LA Lakers, signed his first big performance in the C’s jersey, compiling 9 of his 23 points (6 rebounds and 8 assists) in an extension where his Hornets counterpart, LaMelo Ball, once again sparkling Monday evening, had put his own in the lead (129-126) but was too lonely to hope to turn the tide.
Only Miles Bridges (25 points, 10 rebounds), named player of the week in the Eastern Conference, scored a basket there, with the exception of the leader, Kelly Oubre Jr (19 points) not finding the target and Gordon Hayward ( 15 points) being transparent after already a damaging lost ball in the money-time.