Jayson Tatum scored 33 points as the Boston Celtics overturned a double-digit deficit to extend their lead at the top of the NBA Eastern Conference on Saturday with a 122-106 road victory over the lowly Charlotte Hornets.
The Celtics entered the game heavily favored to record their sixth straight victory against a Hornets team propping up the conference table with just 11 wins.
But Boston were startled by a confident first-half performance from Charlotte, who at one stage surged into a 16-point lead at 58-42 midway through the second quarter.
Boston trimmed the gap to just four points at halftime, with Charlotte leading 66—62, Then the Celtics cut loose in a devastating burst of scoring after the break.