CHARLOTTE – Boston’s defense made the Charlotte Hornets repeatedly pay for their miscues, one of the many factors to catapult the Celtics to a 56-44 lead at the half.
Boston has had its problems of late in the first quarter, having been outscored in the first 12 minutes in each of its last seven games.
Even the woeful Knicks had a first quarter lead when they played recently.
But Monday was a different story with Boston bolting out to a 10-2 lead before clinging to a 26-24 lead after the first quarter.
The second quarter was all Boston as they pulled ahead by as many as 13 points with contributions coming from many.
Boston’s ability to get into the lane consistently was a huge factor in their first half control which included a 24-16 advantage on points in the paint and a 23-20 edge on the boards.
And the Celtics bench was once again winning its matchup, outscoring the Hornets backups at the half 22-16.
Boston Celtics
Here are three takeaways from the first half.
Good start for the Celtics
After having been outscored in the first quarter of their previous seven games, the Celtics began the game with a 10-2 run and held on to lead 26-24 after the first quarter.
Olynyk sighting
He has a tendency to dominate some nights, disappear others. On Monday he choose door number one, setting the tone with baskets inside the paint and from the perimeter that helped fuel a strong second quarter surge by Boston. At the half he had seven points and three rebounds.
Turnovers
Boston totally dominated this facet of the game. The Celtics turned the ball over just three times which led to six points for the Hornets. But they forced Charlotte into turning the ball over eight times for eight points.