Celtics rout the Hornets 130-94 for their 60th victory of the season

BOSTON (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored 22 points, Sam Hauser had 20 and the Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets 130-94 on Friday night for their 60th victory of the season.

The teams will meet again in Boston on Sunday.

Derrick White added 19 points, Jayson Tatum had 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Al Horford had 13 points with 11 rebounds for the Celtics (60-21). Boston coach Joe Mazzulla rested his starters in the final quarter.

Celtics star Jaylen Brown was out with a sore right knee that’s hampered him the past month, making him ineligible for postseason awards because he didn’t reach the league’s threshold for games played.

Seth Curry led the Hornets with 17 points and hit his 82nd 3-pointer, which qualifies him for the NBA’s percentage lead. He went 5 of 7 on 3s and is at 45.6%.

Sacramento’s Zach LaVine entered the night, leading at 44.6%.

Boston, which set the league record for 3s in a season this month, hit seven in the third, pushing a one-point halftime edge to 91-75 entering the fourth.

The Celtics were coming off a 20-point loss in Orlando Wednesday when they sat their top six players.

Takeaways

Hornets: Sat LaMelo Ball (ankle) and Miles Bridges (hip). They near the end of a dismal season (19-62) and haven’t made the postseason since 2016.

Celtics: Brown’s sore knee could become a factor as the Celtics try to repeat as NBA champs. The reigning Finals MVP is a key defender against opponents’ top scorers.

Key moment

Tatum hit a 3 from the top and was fouled 3:17 into the third, making the free throw to complete a four-point play.

Key stat

Boston reached 60 wins for the 15th time in franchise history and the first in back-to-back seasons since 2007-08 and 2008-09.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba