The Boston Celtics defeated the Charlotte Hornets, 96 - 88, at TD Center on Friday. Isaiah Thomas' presence had been missed by the Celtics (14 - 12) while he sat out four games with a groin injury. However, his return Friday provided a definitive spark, as he posted a game - high 28 points, along with five assists and three rebounds. Meanwhile, the Hornets (14 - 13) were dealing with the absence of their own star point guard in Kemba Walker, who missed Friday's tilt for personal reasons. While fill - in Ramon Sessions did a respectable job on the offensive end with 13 points, he had trouble containing Thomas, who shot a stellar 50 percent (10 - of - 20) from the field. Boston won the game with their second - half effort, as they erased a 50 - 41 halftime deficit by outscoring the visitors 55 - 38 over the third and fourth periods. Nicolas Batum took up the offensive cause for Charlotte in Walker's absence, tallying a team - high 22 points and supplementing them with 10 boards, five assists and three steals. Sessions supplemented his aforementioned scoring total with six rebounds and six assists. Marvin Williams supplied 12 points, six boards and three dimes. Marco Belinelli led the bench with 11 points, while Jeremy Lamb collected 10 points in a reserve role also. Al Horford was second to Thomas for Boston with 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists, five blocks and a pair of steals. Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder contributed a pair of 12 - point efforts, with the former also providing seven boards, two assists and a steal, and the latter registering five boards and three assists. Jonas Jerebko led the second unit with nine points. The Hornets will travel to Atlanta for a Saturday evening date with the Hawks, while the Celtics are off until Monday night, when they'll be in South Florida to face the Miami Heat.
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