By Sam Perley, hornets.com
The Hornets headed north looking for their first preseason victory of the year, squaring off with the Boston Celtics for the second time in three days in a matinee matchup at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT. Unfortunately for Charlotte, luck was not on its side as it remained winless in the preseason, falling 104-86 to the Celtics on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams finished off the first quarter knotted at 18 but the Celtics pulled ahead soon after that, taking a 49-38 lead into halftime. Boston would go on to extend its lead to 16 points by the end of the third quarter, which was ultimately too much for the Hornets to overcome as they fell to 0-3 this preseason.
Frank Kaminsky was the man of the afternoon for the Hornets, notching a double-double with 10 points on 5-of-17 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes of play. The second-year power forward out of Wisconsin got the start for Charlotte with Marvin Williams sitting out (rest).
Roy Hibbert racked up six points to go along with nine rebounds and a game-high three blocks in 22 minutes for the Hornets, although he registered just one field-goal attempt. The Charlotte big man continues to establish himself as a physical, aggressive post player who will hopefully start getting more comfortable on the offensive end as the preseason unfolds.
Kemba Walker continued to get back in the swing of things following offseason knee surgery as he managed six points on 2-of-5 shooting and three assists in 15 minutes while also turning the ball over five times. Now entering his sixth NBA season, the veteran point guard’s giveaways can likely be chalked up more to rust and lack of familiarity with new teammates than anything that is too overly concerning.
Other highlights included Ramon Sessions (nine points) and Christian Wood (13 points), while Spencer Hawes tacked on six points, five rebounds and a team-high five assists off the bench for Charlotte. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist also scored in double figures with 11 points while also tallying five rebounds and two steals in 26 minutes.
As a team, the Hornets struggled again from behind the arc, knocking down just 1-of-19 attempts (5.3 %) although dominated Boston in the rebounding battle, 50-35. Turnovers were also an issue as the Hornets tallied 19 giveaways compared to just 12 by the Celtics.
In addition to Marvin Williams, fellow projected opening night starter, Nicolas Batum, also sat out for the Hornets (rest) while Cody Zeller remained sidelined with a knee injury. Brian Roberts made his preseason debut following a two-game absence (hamstring), finishing with four points in eight minutes off the bench.
The Hornets will head back home for their first preseason game of the year at Time Warner Cable Arena as they play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 10 in Charlotte.
