BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 41 points and Derrick White set new career highs with 33 points and eight 3-pointers to help the Boston Celtics hold off the Charlotte Hornets 127-116 on Friday night.
Tatum began the fourth quarter on the bench but was reinserted after Charlotte cut Boston’s lead to 14 points with 7:03 to play. The Hornets trailed by 28 in the third quarter before closing period on 15-3 run.
It was Tatum’s eighth game this season with 40 or more points, but he ran his minutes total to 37 minutes to do it on what was an otherwise light night of work for the MVP contender.