LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Jaylen Brown stepped in to fill some big shoes, finishing with 24 points and 10 rebounds as the Boston Celtics crushed the Charlotte Hornets 126-94 despite missing all-star Kyrie Irving.
Jayson Tatum also chipped in with Irving out with a hip injury, scoring 20 points, and Terry Rozier finished with a career-high 10 assists at the Boston Garden arena. Irving has missed the last two games.
Marcus Morris scored 15 points, Al Horford had 14 and Gordon Hayward 12 for the Celtics, who won for the seventh time in eight games.
Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 21 points, well shy of the 43 points he delivered in a 117-112 home win over the Celtics in November.
Malik Monk scored 16 points, Nicolas Batum added 13 and Marvin Williams 10 for the Hornets, who lost for the third time in five contests.
Morris drained a three pointer halfway through the third quarter to spark a 25-6 run by the Celtics.
Boston led 98-75 after three quarters and extended the lead up to 35 points in the fourth.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens said he hopes to get Irving back for Friday’s game against New York.
The Hornets played without Frenchman Tony Parker who sat out with a right ankle problem.
© Agence France-Presse
