Celtics hold off late push by Hornets, win 120 – 111 with big games from Brown, Tatum, Nesmith

Big nights from All-Stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as well as rookie Aaron Nesmith secured the win for Boston.

The Boston Celtics snapped their three-game winning streak at home on Wednesday night despite a late push by the Charlotte Hornets to try and steal a game at TD Garden, winning 120 – 111.

It was fueled by a 20-point first quarter from All-Star forward Jaylen Brown and finished by one of the better team efforts of the season. The Celtics jumped out to an early 20-point lead and never looked back in a near wire-to-wire win helping take some of the stink off of the last three games Boston has dropped. Brown led the Celtics with 38 points and 7 rebounds on a sizzling 13-of-23 shooting night, hitting 7-of-13 from deep and 5-of-6 from the line.

All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum added 35 points, 8 boards and as many assists while going a nearly as impressive 12-of-23 from the floor and 4-of-10 from 3, hitting 7 of his 8 attempts at the stripe.