The Hornets (6 - 15) used a third quarter run to send the Celtics (7 - 13) to their second consecutive loss. Charlotte, which has won two straight after dropping 10 in a row, outscored the Celtics 33 - 21 in the third quarter, opened the period on a 14 - 6 run, taking a 54 - 51 lead on a Gerald Henderson three - pointer with 7:37 remaining. The lead reached double - digits near the end of the third, but the Celtics battled back in the fourth quarter, pulling within two on a Marcus Thornton jumper with less than five minutes to play. However, Charlotte responded with nine straight points, all of which came courtesy of Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson, to put the game away. Jefferson led all scorers with 23 points and 14 rebounds in 36 minutes. Walker finished with 18 points and seven assists, and Lance Stephenson had 13 points on 6 - of - 14 shooting. After missing 12 games with a leg injury, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist returned to action, scoring nine points to go with six rebounds in 19 minutes. Rajon Rondo led Boston with his second triple - double in three games, putting up 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Jeff Green added 16 points, and Tyler Zeller added 13 to go with eight boards. Thornton finished with 16 points in 19 minutes off the bench.
["PlayerStat(G,'Jeff Green') has 16 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Tyler Zeller') has 13 Assists ,has 8 Defensive rebounds ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Rajon Rondo') has 10 Assists ,has 12 Defensive rebounds ,has 10 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Marcus Thornton') has 2 Assists ,has 2 Defensive rebounds ,has 19 Field goals attempted ,has 16 Field goals made ,has 2 Free throws attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Al Jefferson') has 9 Assists ,has 36 Defensive rebounds ,has 23 Field goals attempted ,has 14 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Lance Stephenson') has 14 Assists ,has 6 Defensive rebounds ,has 13 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Kemba Walker') has 7 Assists ,has 18 Defensive rebounds ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Michael Kidd-Gilchrist') has 3 Assists ,has 3 Defensive rebounds ,has 3 Field goals attempted ,has 19 Field goals made ,has 3 Free throws attempted ,has 9 Free throws made ,has 6 Minutes played ."]