Cleanup of Charlotte completed despite cold night of 3

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With the Celtics on the verge of taking a 21-point lead, coach Joe Mazzulla stuck to his guns. His team needed to win in a way other than the three-point shot, which left the club in the second half.

After the first half of beautiful basketball, a complete disagreement ensued. Without those long shots, Mazzulla’s team found a way to win with defense, points in the paint and getting to the free throw line.

The result was a 113-103 victory over the Hornets at Spectrum Center, and the Celtics won a two-game series that was tighter than expected. Charlotte tied the game to within three in the third quarter before Jayson Tatum helped push the lead to double digits.

Mazulla then benched Tatum in the fourth quarter until less than five minutes remained, allowing some of his supporting players, including Sam Houser, to maintain the lead. Tatum then crushed the feisty Hornets, scoring a team-high 29 points.

Payton Pritchard added 22 of his 17 points in the first half and Luke Kornet scored 19. The Celtics reached the foul line 28 times to Charlotte’s nine, offsetting 16 of 52 (30.8%) on the night from the 3-point line. .

What seemed like a less stressful night than on Friday things suddenly got interesting when the Hornets started the second half with five 3-pointers in the first 3 minutes, 59 seconds, part of a 17–2 run that cut the Celtics’ comfortable lead to 70–67.

The Celtics cooled off from the three-point line; Tatum missed eight of nine attempts in the first three periods. However, Boston fought back thanks to a Tatum bucket and three free throws, pushing the lead back to 85-74.

However, the Celtics were 6 of 21 shooting in the third and 2 of 15 from the 3-point line. Even the reliable Derrick White couldn’t hit a few open threes as Charlotte relentlessly rallied around LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.

Ball was the leading scorer with 36 points, going 6-for-12 on threes and scoring 16 of Charlotte’s 29 points in the final quarter. Miller, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft who missed the previous three games with a hip injury, finished with 16 points.

Earlier, Payton Pritchard continued his early campaign for Sixth Man of the Year honors by fueling Boston’s second-quarter momentum with 12 straight points as the Celtics led 59-38.

Tatum, who apparently spoke with Grant Williams after roughing it with his former teammate on Friday, was all business Saturday, scoring 17 first-half points on 5-of-10 shooting as the Celtics led 68- 50. White added 15 points and six assists.

The Celtics hit the paint and got to the free throw line 16 times in the first half and made 11 of 29 3-pointers.

With Jaylen Brown sitting with a tight hip flexorThe Celtics returned Kornet to the starting lineup to join Al Horford, who was rested on Friday. The double-team proved problematic for the Hornets, who were short on big men with Nick Richards sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Williams started at center and was vigorously booed by the dozens of Celtics fans who filled Spectrum Center in reaction to his hard foul on Tatum the night before. The Celtics enjoyed the paint against undersized Charlotte, especially Cornet, who finished the first half with 11 points and five free throws.

The Celtics took control of the game early after a pair of White threes and jumped out to a 21-9 lead. Charlotte tied the Celtics on Friday but didn’t have the same energy or production in the rematch.

Charlotte completed just 39.1 percent of its attempts in the first half. The combination of Williams and Miles Bridges in the frontcourt scored 1 point.

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.