Kemba Walker-less Charlotte Hornets Drop Fourth Straight After Fourth Quarter Stumble

The Charlotte Hornets struggled without Kemba Walker as they fell to the Celtics in Boston and lost their fourth straight game on the road.

The Charlotte Hornets (14-13) were defeated by the Boston Celtics (14-12) as they dropped their fourth straight game. Without Kemba Walker, the Hornets dropped to 0-4 on their current five-game road trip. Charlotte played well and had a chance to win the game but as it neared the end, Boston took control after a questionable call against Steve Clifford’s side.

The Hornets were without their star in Kemba Walker as he missed his first game of the season due to personal reasons. He is expected to re-join the team for their next game in Atlanta. Ramon Sessions got his first start of the season at point guard and played well scored 13 points to go along with six assists and six rebounds.

Turning Point

The Hornets battled all game and kept it close despite not having Kemba. With 5:33 left in the game, the Celtics were up 80-79 but a questionable flagrant foul by Marco Belinelli on Isaiah Thomas swung the game in Boston’s direction. After the foul, the home team went on a 12-0 run and closed the game out on an 18-9 run. That flagrant foul was definitely the turning point in the match and the Celtics ended up outscoring Charlotte 27-19 in the final period.

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Who Stepped Up

Nicolas Batum led the Hornets as he scored a team-high 22 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out five assists. Marvin Williams scored 12 points while Jeremy Lamb added 10. Marco Belinelli had a good game off the bench as he scored 11 points.

Cody Zeller only scored two points in 27 minutes as he struggled. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist also had a rough night as he finished with three points in 21 minutes of game action.

The Celtics were led by Isaiah Thomas who scored a game-high 26 points to go along with his five assists. Al Horford chipped in with 18 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder each scored 12 points in this one.

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With the loss, the Hornets dropped to 0-2 on the season against the Celtics. It may not seem important but remember last season when Charlotte was forced into the sixth seed because they lost the season series to Boston. The two sides will meet twice more this year.

In their next game, the Charlotte Hornets will take on the Atlanta Hawks to close out their five-game road trip. Both teams will be on the second night of a back to back so it should be an interesting divisional matchup. The team is in desperate need of a win and they will look to snap their four-game losing streak in ATL.