Boston and Charlotte adopted the “best defense is more offense” mantra in a Monday night monsoon of points. With both offenses firing on all cylinders, the Celtics escaped with the victory, 140-129 in overtime behind Jayson Tatum’s 41 and Jaylen Brown’s 30 points.
Al Horford (adductor) and Romeo Langford (calf) missed the contest in Charlotte due to injuries. Dennis Schröder stepped up to make his second straight start, joining Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Robert Williams in the starting lineup.
The Hornets were without former Celtic “Scary” Terry Rozier. Kelly Oubre was inserted in the starting lineup in his absence.